Liverpool transfer news: Mo Salah latest as former Reds player praises "inspiration" and gives verdict on "weird" Slot feud

Former Liverpool midfielder David Thompson has praised Mohamed Salah's legacy at Anfield but has revealed that he would not be surprised if he was sold.

The Reds will hope to bounce back from their disappointing draw with Leeds United by beating Fulham on Sunday in the Premier League.

Boss Arne Slot has not been able to select winger Mohamed Salah for the team's last three games due to his international commitments with Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations.

There are doubts about whether the 33-year-old will still be at Anfield after January following his fallout with Slot, and while former Reds midfielder Thompson hopes Salah has not played his last match for the club, he insisted that the forward has declined.

Thompson told the Footy Accumulators No Tippy Tappy Football podcast: "The situation with [Salah and] Slot is a weird one, nobody saw it coming, and at 33 you should accept having a little rest on the bench.

"He deserves a proper send-off where the fans can say goodbye to him, and he can say goodbye to the fans, because he's been a real inspiration.

"It's been a change of system, a change of style, a change of personnel, and they defend differently from the front. They don't create that chaos where Mo Salah used to thrive. His performances have not been good enough, and teams have started to exploit that side of the pitch."

The Reds have kept four clean sheets in their past eight games, with Salah only making an appearance in one of those matches.

Are Liverpool good enough in attack to sell Mo Salah in January?

After a summer revamp saw the club part with a sum in the region of £450m to bring in stars such as Alexander Isak, Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz, fans expected the club to be among the best attacking units in Europe.

The reality on the pitch is that Liverpool have scored 17 fewer goals (30) after 19 Premier League games than they did at the same stage in 2024-25.

No side in the league's top six have scored fewer than the Reds' 30 goals, and their return at the halfway stage is their worst since the 2015-16 season.

While it remains to be seen if Slot can reconcile his relationship with Salah, selling the 33-year-old when the team as a whole have struggled may not solve any of the problems at Anfield.

Why has Mohamed Salah struggled this season?

During his time at Anfield, Salah has had a remarkable impact in the final third, scoring 250 goals for the club while also registering 114 assists.

The Egyptian has always been impactful offensively, but he has evolved his style of play in recent seasons, with his creativity significantly improving.

However, the 33-year-old has always been a volume attacker, and it is no surprise that his numbers have dipped when considering he has averaged just 6.79 touches in box per 90 this season, the fewest in his entire Liverpool career.

The sale of Trent Alexander-Arnold removed the Reds' main way of progressing the ball to Salah, while the addition of other forwards like Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike have seen the Merseysiders attempt to build down the left flank.

Salah cannot be excused for his poor form, but it is also fair to argue that he has not been platformed by Slot.