Liverpool must replace ‘Europa League level’ player who flopped 3/10

Liverpool supporters are currently divided, and this is how they split.

There are many fans who are optimistic about Liverpool’s chances for the rest of the season. Arne Slott’s side have won five of their last six games in all competitions and have tightened their defense through such a multifaceted campaign throughout the opening months.

But there are many more supporters who view Liverpool’s situation with a half-empty attitude – and who can blame them? The Reds continued to flatter themselves, with Alexis Mac Allister’s last-gasp win at Nottingham Forest, but they performed as miserably as they have since the start of the season.

Their hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League group stage are slim and missing out on that goal would be a disaster.

The slot will need all its stars to shine over the coming months, and that will no doubt include Mohamed Salah. But the Egyptian King’s summer sale is starting to look more likely.

Why Salah must be sold this summer

Last season’s hero is holding this season back. It’s unfair to the powerful Salah, but there’s no doubt he’s fallen off the proverbial cliff, far from world-class sharpness, since the summer.

The right-sided forward has made 19 appearances in the Premier League this season, scoring four goals and providing six assists.

Against Forest, we were once again helpless. Salah’s Premier League goalscoring slump stretches into nine games and on Sunday he failed to take a shot or dribble and all four of his crosses went off target.

These are uncharted territory, but time is not on Salah’s side and it is starting to look more likely that the 33-year-old will leave Liverpool this summer for a place like the Saudi Pro League.

It seems almost blasphemous to suggest that Salah needs to move on, but there is no denying that the club legend has suffered a shocking decline over the past year.

But age and a lifetime of tireless service make him more susceptible to the veteran’s decline than the Reds’ other star forwards.

Liverpool need to replace 3/10 forwards

Liverpool made a mistake last summer when they sold Luis Diaz to Bayern Munich in a deal worth £65.5 million. Retaining Kodi Gakpo as the only regular left-back forward highlighted holes in the Dutchman’s game.

There is no doubt that the 26-year-old Gakpo has lacked as a one-dimensional winger this season. Indeed, analyst Raj Chohan said in January that he was a “European League-level player” who lacked the physical and technical attributes to compete in world-class competition.

At the City Ground, Gakpo sadly endured another tough game, failing to make much of an impact in attack and once again lacking an answer to the low blocks that have been a major hindrance to Slot’s ball-playing system this season.

Rio Ngmoha’s surprise cameo was a must-see for Liverpool fans. The 17-year-old winger broke into Slot’s first-team squad this season but has barely played any minutes in the Premier League.

After the game, coach Chohan said the teenager came on as a substitute and until the final five minutes of the game, he “posed a threat with his dribbling to the side that Liverpool were missing”. It is no exaggeration to say that Ngmoha has achieved more than both Gakpo and Salah.

Data cannot explain the fearlessness Ngumoha displayed when he was unleashed. Still, it’s interesting to note that he completed two of his three dribbles. Gakpo didn’t even try to dribble.

With this in mind, Football FanCast has decided to give Gakpo a match rating of 3/10. His consistently disappointing performances nullified many of Slott’s efforts to restore some fluency and balance to the front line.

Furthermore, the Dutchman had the fewest touches of any of Liverpool’s starters on the day. He is not trusted as a forward to make things happen, is too predictable and his efforts on goal become too easy to prevent.

In the end, it would not be wise for Liverpool to sell Gakpo and leave the young and inexperienced Ngumoha as the only starter on the attacking left.

However, Ngumoha has shown more dynamism in his game and it is clear that the England Under-19 star could be a top choice to replace Gakpo next year.