Grab a brew and some generously buttered toast, because it's time for your Liverpool FC morning headlines on Sunday, January 22.
Liverpool analysis - Mohamed Salah change is needed as Thiago handed new role
Is Mohamed Salah becoming a concern for Jurgen Klopp?
Harvey Elliott would be forgiven for thinking he deserved better. Having produced arguably his best Liverpool performance as the matchwinner in the FA Cup at Wolves in midweek, the 19-year-old was among those who retained his place.
Except, rather than lining up on the right where he so impressed at Molineux, Elliott was shunted on to the opposite flank to allow for the return of Mohamed Salah down the right with Cody Gakpo up top.
It was a big ask. In such an unaccustomed position, the youngster struggled, not helped – particularly in the first half – by some wayward passing from his team-mates. Elliott is still learning his trade, in the same way Gakpo – who improved as the game progressed, even if some of his snatched finishing suggests he is trying a bit too hard to impress – is adapting to his new surrounds. They will improve.
Instead, the chief concern for Klopp must be to get Salah firing again. There was good sense in having him up against Marc Cucurella, and he caused the defensively-resistant Chelsea man problems. The issue was that it wasn’t often enough, Liverpool unable to bring Salah into the game sufficiently, the Egyptian with just one goal in six games, matching a similar run at the start of the campaign.
Perhaps moving Salah to a central position could help, not least given the busy late cameo by the fit-again Darwin Nunez down the left that emphasised what had been missed in the Uruguayan’s brief absence.
Read Ian Doyle's full analysis of Liverpool 0-0 Chelsea HERE.
Mason Mount 'interest' could be explained by Premier League rule Liverpool have to follow
Liverpool's expected midfield rebuild could be driven by Premier League rules this summer.
And that gives further credence to speculation that the Reds could be prepared to make a swoop for Mason Mount, should he fail to agree new terms with Chelsea.
The 24-year-old England star is in the final 18 months of his current contract at Stamford Bridge, but according to The Guardian, he is looking for a considerable uplift in his £75,000-per-week wages. Chelsea are thought to be are wary of losing a player who has been at the club since he was six-years-old to one of their main rivals and they will have good reason to suspect that interest is legitimate.
Under Premier League rules, clubs are allowed to name a maximum 25-man squad at the start of each season, but only 17 of the list can be classified as non-home-grown players. This leaves eight further spaces to fill.
The Premier League definition of the rule states: "A "Home-Grown Player" means a player who, irrespective of nationality or age, has been registered with any club affiliated to The Football Association or the Football Association of Wales for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons, or 36 months, before his 21st birthday (or the end of the season during which he turns 21)."
Under that definition, Mount is classed as a home-grown player and therefore, would not only bolster Jurgen Klopp's midfield but also not take up a valuable place in Liverpool's current allocation of non-home-grown players.
Read the full story HERE.
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