AuthorRachael Warham Football has gone mad and if the game ever needed further evidence to support this claim then Liverpool's signing of Mohamed Salah from AS Roma will only strengthen this notion. The Reds broke the club's transfer record this week after they splashed out £39 million on the Egyptian winger, believing his acquisition will propel them into title contenders. For a price tag of almost £40 million you'd be forgiven for thinking they were purchasing the finished article or very nearly. However in Salah, they have a player who is anything but. Breaking the club record for this guy is like buying a plane with a wing missing. You're not going to get very far. Yes, he can dribble, yes, he can take on a defender and yes, he has an electrical turn of speed that will frighten defenders but underlying all that is a worrying inability to finish a move - an end product that isn't a happy ending, rather a frustrating one instead. One good season, a good player does not make, and what Liverpool fans are forgetting is that Serie A is wildly different from the premier league. The frailties that his game possesses will not have been as noticeable in the slower tempo of the Italian game where he would've had more time in possession but the frenzy of the Premier League will only highlight the inadequacies in his final ball. It mustn't be forgotten, Salah already has Premier League experience, having moved to Chelsea from FC Basel in 2014 - after making only six appearances for the Blues, his inconsistency under the watchful eyes of Jose Mourinho did little to warrant a place in the first-team and it wasn't long before he was sent out on loan to Fiorentina. And so, Liverpool fans can knock out all the stats they want in order to justify Salah's lofty transfer fee but the fact is, some players just aren't cut-out for the physicality of England's premier competition. We don't have long before we'll be able to make a judgement for ourselves but I have a feeling the Anfield faithful will be bitterly disappointed with their new signing and left wondering whether Jurgen Klopp is the Messiah they had him down as or just another mad-man. Rachael writes for an Arsenal Fanzine and also for her Facebook Group: Football Blogging. Please check out her group, join the group and have a chat about football. Group link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/474563372699847/ |
AuthorsJust Some Fans Writing About Football. Archives
June 2018
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