Mohamed Salah won't get to say goodbye to Manchester United. The muscle injury he picked up in Liverpool's 3-1 win over Crystal Palace rules him out of Sunday's trip to Old Trafford — and given he turns 34 this summer with his contract expiring, that particular chapter may already be closed.
Thirteen Premier League goals against United. Seven of them at Old Trafford — more than any player in English top-flight history at that ground. No Liverpool forward has hurt United like Salah has, and United fans will be quietly relieved he's not making the journey this weekend. From a betting standpoint, Liverpool's attacking threat shifts considerably without him — whatever price you're looking at for goals or corners should be weighed against an attack missing its most clinical edge.
Salah wants Henderson to get what he deserved
The more revealing Salah story isn't about his injury, though. It's what he said to Steven Gerrard on TNT Sports' The Breakdown this week, calling on Liverpool — the club and the fanbase — to do right by Jordan Henderson when Brentford visit Anfield on May 24.
"Without him — and I have been there in the dressing room — without him we would not have achieved what we achieved," Salah said. "He didn't get the send off or farewell he deserved because he left immediately. I really hope the fans will give a good send off. I really hope so."
Henderson left for Saudi Arabia's Al-Ettifaq in 2023 after 12 years of service. No ceremony, no lap of honour, no real acknowledgment of what he meant to the Premier League and Champions League-winning era. The fact that Salah — a man quietly preparing for his own farewell — is using his platform to push for someone else's recognition says a lot.
Klopp, Elliott, and a €100m connection
Meanwhile, Jurgen Klopp's post-Liverpool life is intersecting with Anfield business in an unexpected way. Now Head of Global Soccer at Red Bull, Klopp is reportedly connected to Liverpool's reported interest in RB Leipzig's Yan Diomande — a 19-year-old valued at around €100m (£86m).
The deal could involve Harvey Elliott as a makeweight, which would give Klopp an indirect way to address something he admitted weighed on him: not starting Elliott enough in his final season at Liverpool. "If I regret one thing a little bit it's that Harvey didn't play often enough, maybe," Klopp said ahead of his departure last May. Elliott spent this season on loan at Aston Villa. A permanent exit via Leipzig — brokered in part through Klopp's new role — would be a strange, full-circle resolution.
Whether that deal materialises or not, the summer is shaping up as a significant rebuilding moment at Anfield. Salah almost certainly leaving, Henderson's era long since over, and now Elliott potentially following. The squad that won the title this season is already being dismantled in slow motion.
