One Liverpool star had some choice words for Reds boss Arne Slot when he first arrived at the Merseyside club.
The Dutchman had a sizeable task on his hands, taking over from revered former manager Jurgen Klopp, but seven wins in his first nine Premier League games with Liverpool suggests he’s adjusted to the role quite well.
But the handover didn’t come without some protest from a key player in the dressing room, according to Dutch journalist Marcel van der Kraan from De Telegraaf.
Report claims Liverpool talisman Mohamed Salah called Arne Slot ‘f**king crazy’
The report from Dutch media suggests that forward Mohamed Salah – ranked at no.7 in FourFourTwo's list of the best players in the world right now – called Slot ‘f**king crazy’ for the intensity he requires from attackers regarding workload on the pitch.
Klopp himself is not renowned for an overly passive style of football, so if the report from Van der Kraan is correct – he says he heard this from people at the training ground – then it paints a picture of just how intense Slot’s demands must be.
The Dutch journalist also claims that Slot has been impressed with striker Darwin Nunez since taking over at the club this summer.
Van der Kraan credits Slot’s admiration to the work the Uruguayan can do off the ball as much as what he can do in possession, playing a key role in charging down opponents in the Dutchman’s energetic system.
Results suggest Salah and Slot have managed to put their reported early differences aside; the Egyptian has started every game across all competitions, save for one Carabao Cup meeting, and has already racked up eight goals and seven assists in 13 appearances.
The same cannot yet be said of Nunez, who has started just five times under Slot so far, but he will hope his four goal involvements in 10 appearances, coupled with the manager’s early attraction, will translate into greater opportunities as the season progresses.
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In FourFourTwo’s opinion, context is key in terms of how brutal this bust-up was; written down, it sounds spiky, but in reality, it may have been said with a wry smile on the Egyptian’s face as Slot urged him to make another high-intensity sprint.
There were always going to be some readjustments required when a figure as seismic as Klopp departed, but Salah’s relentless record in front of goal this season suggests it hasn’t been to the detriment of his performances.
Liverpool take on Brighton at Anfield when Premier League action returns this weekend.
