08 Jul 2019 12:51:52
Ed's, salah and mane are both 27. In the next few years they'll begin to lose a bit of pace that is a key part of their game, or sooner if, God forbid, they have an injury. We've seen it happen before with players like Torres and Sturridge where speed is a critical part of their success and are never quite the same once they lose a step. Is there a plan to cash in on either of these players before they begin to see a decline in their value? Not that I want either to leave as they're fantastic players but I'm also trying to look at this from a business perspective and what's best for Liverpool long term.

{Ed002's Note - The situation with Salah has been done to death. The club is almost certainly not having such thoughts.}

1.) 08 Jul 2019
08 Jul 2019 15:14:38
As top notch footballers, it's up to them to adapt their game to suit any loss of pace that may occur. There's no reason why they can't play at their current level for another 5 years and that's an age in football terms. Look at Ronaldo as a prime example.

2.) 08 Jul 2019
08 Jul 2019 16:12:14
Its a decent point though, and i haven't seen the subject discussed before. I've certainly not thought about it.

I think 27 is considered as being a players prime, 26 to 30 id say. And we want the best players possible to be playing for us in their prime, so i wouldn't be thinking of selling atm. And i think that the very best players can still fetch hefty transfer fees when 29/ 30.

I think its hard for us liverpool fans, sometimes, to not always be thinking of losing or selling our best players. The thing is, why do we need money if not to buy the best players we can and improve the squad? I don't think there are many better lw rw than mane and salah and both seem happy at liverpool.

Mind you it is something that may need considering in a few years time. I don't see salah staying til he's 30, but i hope he does of course.

3.) 08 Jul 2019
08 Jul 2019 17:07:40
There's 3 Liverpool players that I can think of (and probably more that aren't spring to mind) that disprove that you should sell a player because their ageing is affecting their pace.

1: John Barnes. Absolute class on the left wing with his pace, skill and crossing. When he'd lost the pace, he dropped into a deep holding midfield player and was very good at it.

2: James Milner. All throughout his career he's been a winger and his desire to move into the centre of midfield is one of the reasons he joined Liverpool. He has perfectly adapted his game to be a centre-mid.

3: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Has always been a winger at Southampton and Arsenal. Came to Liverpool under the promise he'd be used more centrally. He's not at the age yet where his pace will dwindle, but he's already made the switch of position to make losing his pace in later years less crucial as he's already developing in the central role.

Both at 27 there's no need for them to feel any urgency to change position, and Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery are proof that you don't even need to change position if your body is up to it. I do feel that either would be comfortable as a second striker or no.10 in the future.

4.) 08 Jul 2019
08 Jul 2019 17:11:46
I'm not an expert on these 2 players. But I imagine as we see with Ronaldo (and even God when he plays a charity match), technique and the intelligence doesn't go. It's the same in tennis as well where you're seeing Federer change his playing style over the last few years so it's less reliant on pace and long rallies. Then you have players like Milner who is in fantastic shape for his age. But a winger I don't know. I'd be interested to hear opinions on this. Still, it's years away anyway.

5.) 08 Jul 2019
08 Jul 2019 19:24:54
OP, the issue with your opinion is that both these players do not rely on pace alone. Mane for example when he came to us, was pacy and quick. Now, his game is much more than that. His repertoire is more diverse cos he can play every attacking position currently (including the no. 10 role he plays for Senegal), in contrast to when he first came to us as a pure wideman. Pace has now become a part of Mane's game. He is way better than that now and he can always hone his game to play at the highest level for years even when he loses his pace cos he will. Same with Salah.

Salah came to us as a winger with pace. Now, look at him. He is now a well-rounded attacking talent, one who can play all three attacking positions. In fact, he plays the playmaker role for Egypt BUT not centrally. He does this from a wide position, if you like. I would not worry about both these players cos they are way too intelligent to rely on pace as they get older.