A round-up of the latest Liverpool news as Reds owner John Henry makes his stance on signing Mohamed Salah to a new contract past 2025 clear to the Anfield natives.
Paul Scholes comes to the defence of Andy Robertson despite Liverpool star’s ‘mistakes’
Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has come to the defence of Andy Robertson, urging Liverpool head coach Arne Slot to back the under-pressure left-back. The Red Devils hero is adamant that despite his recent ‘mistakes’, Robertson must stay in the XI week-in, week-out.
Robertson has seldom been an exceptional defender during his career with Liverpool largely able to lean on his attacking influence plus the defensive expertise of Virgil van Dijk to cover the Scotland star’s shortfalls. But his errors have now been costly at times for Slot this term.
Referee Tony Harrington even showed Robertson a red card only 17 minutes into Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Fulham last Saturday after denying a goalscoring opportunity. Yet he will be in line to return at Tottenham Hotspur this Sunday after serving the suspension in the EFL Cup.
And Scholes feels it should be a no-brainer for Slot to recall Roberston to Liverpool’s line-up in north London after sitting out their EFL Cup quarter-final at Southampton to serve a one-game ban. The Red Devils hero is adamant that Robertson needs to play every Reds fixture.
“I don’t actually think he’s been that bad,” Scholes told The Overlap. “I know he’s made a couple of mistakes, but I don’t think he’s actually been that bad.
“He’s the type of player, and I know this because we were talking about it earlier in the season because he was in and out of the XI, but he’s the type of player who needs to be playing every week.”
Read more about what Scholes has said about Robertson’s struggles at Liverpool, here.
John Henry urges Liverpool to agree to a new contract with Mohamed Salah
Liverpool owner John Henry has privately urged the Anfield team to agree to a new contract with Mohamed Salah with the Egyptian’s terms continuing to wind down. The 32-year-old is currently set to become a free agent at the end of the campaign without signing a new deal.
That is according to Caught Offside, which reports that Henry has told Liverpool chiefs that a new contract for Salah is of ‘great importance’ for the club as the winger extending his stay on Merseyside is ‘advantageous’ for all involved. It is even possible that he will renew soon.
Salah is expected to publicly reiterate his desires to stay at Liverpool ahead of signing a two-year contract through the 2026/27 season. He has also already thanked multiple teams such as Al Ahli, Al Hilal, Al Ittihad, Al Nassr, FC Barcelona and Juventus for considering a transfer.
Retaining Salah would keep Liverpool’s best and most important player at Anfield. Only Chris Wood with 10 of Nottingham Forest’s 21 Premier League goals and Erling Haaland with 13 of Manchester City’s 28 have contributed more than Salah with 13 of Liverpool’s 31 this term.
Read more about what Henry has said about Salah’s contract situation at Liverpool, here.
Rickie Lambert is ‘worried’ that Darwin Nunez is cracking under the pressure at Liverpool
Former Liverpool and England striker Rickie Lambert is ‘worried’ that Darwin Nunez will not fulfil his potential and his Anfield career is now slipping away from the Uruguayan. Lambert had high hopes for the attacker when he joined in 2022 but Nunez is not delivering enough.
Nunez cost Liverpool £64m to sign from SL Benfica and he may even set them back a record fee through add-ons reaching £85m. But the 25-year-old is not a guaranteed starting player for Arne Slot, with just six starts through his potential 14 Premier League games this season.
Slot has not given Nunez his unyielding faith after only seeing the attacker bag two goals so far in the top-flight. And Lambert fears the best version of Nunez may not ever be one who is good enough for Liverpool, despite hoping he would be their new Fernando Torres one day.
“Nunez is at the tipping point now and I was hoping and praying it would all click and he’d become like Fernando Torres,” Lambert told Redmen TV. “What I’m worried is happening right in front of us is that it’s going the other way.
“Under the pressure of being a number nine for Liverpool, it’s very hard. If it’s not going your way, the fans are not patient – but they have been, to be fair. Just doing well for Liverpool isn’t good enough, you have to be sensational.”
Read more about what Lambert has said about Nunez’s problems at Liverpool, here.
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