‘Mo Salah is an elite player, there’s no way he wants to be sitting on the bench’: Jamie Redknapp after Liverpool star benched again

Salah was brought on at half-time against Sunderland as Liverpool sought a breakthrough but struggled to make a significant impact.

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah, centre, warms up before the English Premier League match against Sunderland. (PHOTO: AP)

For the second game running, Liverpool manager Arne Slot left legendary forward Mohamed Salah out of the starting XI, a decision that continues to raise questions about the relationship between the two. The talismanic Egyptian was also omitted from the lineup in Liverpool’s 2-0 loss to West Ham United on Sunday. Previously, Slot had not included Salah against Sunderland, a match the defending Premier League champions drew 1-1.

Former England player Jamie Redknapp said he would not compare the Slot-Salah situation to the historic falling-out between Alan Shearer and Ruud Gullit, but he believes “something has to give” regarding what is unfolding at Liverpool.

“I wouldn’t compare it to when Alan Shearer was left out by Ruud Gullit all those years ago, which ended up being a massive clash where one had to go, but it does feel like something has to give,” Redknapp told Sky Sports.

“There is no way Mohamed Salah is going to be content being a bit-part player in this team. Whether it’s in January or in the summer, if he finds the right club, I think he deserves the right to move on if things aren’t going his way. I can only see that outcome. Now that trust is broken, especially with someone like Salah, he needs that confidence and love from a manager,” he added.

Salah was brought on at half-time as Liverpool sought a breakthrough but struggled to make a significant impact.

“I don’t feel it’s going to end well either way. Salah will be looking at it thinking, ‘I’m an elite player, there’s no way I want to be sitting on the bench for Liverpool,'” Redknapp continued.

“For the manager to leave him out when you’re possibly going to lose him for eight games during AFCON, you’ve got to play him while you can. He is their superstar footballer, but Slot clearly doesn’t believe that right now. He didn’t come on and make the impact Liverpool fans would want. It was a really difficult night for him.”

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Former England defender and now pundit Jamie Carragher argued that Salah’s omission was not a case of rest or rotation, but that the Egyptian had been dropped by Slot.

“I expected Mo Salah to play,” Carragher said. “Arne Slot can frame it as Liverpool having four games in 10 days and having to choose which games to use him in. Sunderland will sit deep and make it difficult, so I expected this to be the match where Salah starts. For him to be on the bench doesn’t feel like rest or rotation; it feels like he’s been dropped.”

“I’ve said this season I don’t think Mo Salah should play every game, but when I said that, I was thinking mainly about away games—not so much at Anfield. I’m surprised. Sooner or later, Liverpool do have to pivot away from being the ‘Salah team’ and toward being the ‘Wirtz and Isak team,’ and maybe we saw a glimpse of that today,” he added, speaking to Sky Sports.