Paul Merson believes Mohamed Salah will miss playing alongside Trent Alexander-Arnold when the Liverpool right-back moves to Real Madrid.
Salah, 32, signed a new contract with Liverpool last week to tie him to the club until 2027, ending months of speculation over his future. Fans feared that he might leave the club as a free agent, which is exactly what Alexander-Arnold is expected to do, amid interest from the 15-time European champion.
Alexander-Arnold, Salah and Virgil van Dijk all went into this season with less than 12 months remaining on their contracts, and while Van Dijk looks set to continue his Liverpool career alongside Salah, they will likely be doing so without Alexander-Arnold. The England international joined Liverpool when he was a young boy all the way back in 2004 but it appears inevitable that the allure of playing for Madrid will prove too appealing to turn down.
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Salah and Alexander-Arnold have struck up a brilliant understanding on Liverpool's right flank over the years, and Merson believes the Egyptian will have to adapt to playing with a different right-back behind him.
“If I was playing right wing, I know who I’d want playing at right-back: Trent Alexander-Arnold,” Merson told Sky Sports on Saturday. “I’d rather someone like him playing there than an out-and-out defender. Because Salah doesn’t come back, that’s why he’s been successful. You don’t see him really defending on the edge of his box, running the length of the pitch.
"So, he will miss Trent 100 per cent. Teams will double up on Salah now because they won’t have to worry about the right-bac.kThe right-back won’t hurt them like Trent can.
“So, that player who marks Trent will drop back and stop Salah and double up and they’ll let that player have the ball. You can’t do that with Trent because he will absolutely destroy you. But whoever comes and plays there now, they’ll just double up. He’ll find it hard next season, it will be harder next season 100 per cent.”
Meanwhile, Van Dijk hinted that an announcement over his future is close after scoring the winning goal for Liverpool against West Ham on Sunday.
Van Dijk was chased by his teammates as he ran into the corner of the pitch between the Anfield Main Stand and the Kop to celebrate the goal. After his teammates had dispersed, Van Dijk strolled over to the Kop and clutched the crest on his jersey before kissing it.
"I'm very proud today to captain my 100th game for Liverpool. It was an emotional day because of the Hillsborough anniversary," Van Dijk told Sky Sports. "The main focus was to get three points and get us close to all of our dreams, not only us as players and staff, but everyone who is connected to Liverpool FC. Everyone knows how much I love this club, and let's see what next week will look like."
