Salah To Chelsea? There Are More pressing Concerns For Liverpool

FC Basel winger Mohamed Salah was a long-term Liverpool target, and had been linked with a move to Anfield over the last two-three months on a consistent basis. Liverpool were very close to sealing a deal for the Egyptian, but Chelsea stole a march by signing him as a potential replacement for Manchester United bound Juan Mata. While losing out on Salah will undoubtedly be a big blow, and questions will definitely be asked about the effectiveness of the transfer committee at Anfield, Liverpool have other, more pressing, concerns that need addressing before the window closes in around a week’s time.

Central Midfield

Liverpool did not make any additions to the midfield in the summer, and have just four recognized midfielders to fill the three slots in manager Brendan Rodgers’ favored 4-3-3/4-3-1-2 formation. Rodgers prefers a pairing of a defensive midfielder, Lucas, with a deep-lying playmaker, Steven Gerrard, in central midfield with Jordan Henderson playing in the more advanced role. This has been successful for Liverpool so far this season, who are enjoying one of their better seasons off late. However, constant injury worries have left the Merseyside club thin on backup.

Both Lucas as well as Joe Allen, who can play in either of the roles in the midfield pairing, have suffered from injuries over the last couple of seasons. The pair have both spent over three months each on the sidelines- Lucas with a hamstring injury, and Allen with a thigh problem and a groin injury. Luckily for Liverpool, there hasn’t been much overlap in terms of timing, but a failure to address the issue of squad depth could harm Liverpool’s chances of finishing in the top 4 this season.

Just as Allen made his comeback from injury, Lucas seems to be facing a few weeks on the sidelines due to a knee injury, leaving the squad exposed once again. Liverpool have been linked with a few defensive midfielders this January in order to address this problem the most notable being Yann M’Vila of Rubin Kazan and Fernando Reges of FC Porto. Unless Liverpool are able to bolster their options in the next week, they look quite likely to slip up in their push for the fourth and final Champions League spot.

Full Back

 

Liverpool’s attempts to strengthen the fullback positions in the summer saw them bring in French left back Aly Cissokho from Valencia on loan to provide cover for Spaniard Jose Enrique. However, his performances have been far from inspiring, with youngster Jon Flanagan being preferred, and Liverpool look certain not to make the move permanent in the summer. Flanagan’s injury coupled with Jose Enrique’s continued absence has meant that Brendan Rodgers has been forced to play Cissokho.

Martin Kelly’s progress has been hampered by injuries and he missed almost the entire last season due to a knee injury. He has since returned, but has fallen down the pecking order. Glen Johnson has been the first choice at right back, but he too has succumbed to injury and looks set to miss out on a few games.

All these injuries and poor form means that Liverpool are really light in the fullback area and strengthening is required urgently. Liverpool have been linked with Barcelona’s young fullback Martin Montoya, who is yet to sign a new contract for the Catalans. Montoya is comfortable playing on either flank and his signing would provide much needed cover to a position that has been the Achilles’ heel for Liverpool in recent seasons.

Financial Fair Play

Liverpool’s owners have been criticized a lot in the last 24 hours for losing out on Salah due to their unwillingness to shell out the extra money, mainly in agents’ fees, which resulted in the Egyptian moving to Chelsea. However, people are failing to keep a crucial factor in mind- UEFA’s Financial Fair Play which stipulates that clubs are supposed to spend within their means.

Liverpool’s commercial department have been working overtime to increase their revenue stream by adding new sponsors, and the results are there to see following the publication of 2014 Deloitte Football Money League- even though Liverpool have slipped out of the top 10, their revenues have increased by £17.5 million in 2012-13 season compared to 2011-12 season.

However, Liverpool are unable to spend too much more this season due to a cap on the amount owners can pump in over the course of three seasons ending 2013-14, and Liverpool are pretty close to exhausting the available budget. It is not a question of whether the owners are willing to put the money where their mouth is, it’s whether the rules allow them to or not. As a result, Liverpool are looking for cut-price deals, or looking to make the payments in installments, which obviously places them at a disadvantage.

Salah is a player who would have improved the squad and added an extra dimension to the Liverpool attack, but with six players- Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge, Philippe Coutinho, Raheem Sterling, Luis Alberto and Victor Moses- fighting for three spots, there is sufficient depth in the attacking areas to make do until the summer. Liverpool will undoubtedly be disappointed in losing out on a transfer target, but given the constraints, Liverpool may be better off focusing on the addressing more pressing concerns.