‘Premier League all-time great’ Mo Salah to be ‘huge miss’ for Liverpool as striker heads for AFCON

The striker, who represents Egypt, recently crossed the 150 Premier League goal tally as he continues to play a major part in Jurgen Klopp’s squad.

The Reds started the New Year at the top of the league standings, and they will be looking to stay there as Klopp hunts his second Premier League crown.

Salah could be out for as long as February 11 if Egypt progress all the way to the final of the continental competition.

If that’s the case, the forward will miss league encounters with Bournemouth, Chelsea, Arsenal and Burnley.

When asked about Liverpool’s title chances, Savage told Planet Sport: “Liverpool have got a massive chance of winning the title and that’s because they know how to win the Premier League.

“They’ve got a manager in Jurgen Klopp who knows what it takes to win it and many of their players know what is needed to win it too. They look like Manchester City’s biggest rivals for the title now.

“The big question is how much will they miss Mo Salah? He’ll definitely miss the games against Bournemouth and Chelsea and if Egypt go all the way to the AFCON final, he could miss the match against Arsenal in early February.

“For me he’s one of the Premier League’s all-time greats considering how many goals he’s scored in the position that he plays.

“To score the numbers he has and as consistently as he has for someone who isn’t a centre forward is very impressive and he’ll be hugely missed while he’s away.”

Despite Liverpool’s impressive run this season, Savage is still backing Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City to come out on top. 

He added: “I still fancy City to win the title, but you can’t rule Liverpool out.

“They’ve got the best defence in the league and the second most potent attack, so they look to have most bases covered at the moment.

“Salah is obviously going to be a huge miss, but I do think they’ve got enough options in attack to be okay while he’s away with Egypt.

“I don’t think they’ll bring anyone in during the transfer window. There’s no point buying someone for the sake of it.

“If there is someone better out there, go and get them, but I think Jurgen Klopp will be chuffed with what he’s got and don’t forget there are plenty of players like Andy Robertson and Thiago to come back from injury too.”