Slot risking Liverpool ‘civil war’ with expected change next match, but there’s an obvious solution

Arne Slot has been told he risks throwing Liverpool into a ‘civil war’ if he drops Mohamed Salah for Rio Ngumoha next time out against West Ham, but there’s a rather obvious solution.

For much of Liverpool’s contest with Nottingham Forest on Sunday, there looked like only one winner. The Reds produced arguably their worst half of football this season before the break, which is saying something given how turgid it’s been at times during the campaign.

Ultimately, Liverpool managed to keep their sheet clean and snatched all three points at the death when Alexis Mac Allister showed a poacher’s instinct and rifled home from close range.

It was through the substitution of Ngumoha that Liverpool finally looked a threat in the final third, and his electric cameo has prompted pundits and fans alike to demand he start the next match against West Ham on Saturday .

Jamie Carragher is among those to call for Ngumoha to start more games, and suggested neither of Mohamed Salah or Cody Gakpo should feel aggrieved if they’re the one dropped.

But according to the latest from The Daily Mail , Slot risks Liverpool imploding into a ‘civil war’ if Salah is the one relegated to the bench for the 17-year-old.

They wrote: ‘Salah was running in sand in the second half and at times it must be said that he hardly seemed to be trying. After one particularly half-hearted amble down the right, Slot decided he had seen enough and hauled him off.

‘Salah made his way to the bench with one of those smiles that says ‘I will get you later’ and the ramifications of it all will doubtless play out in a rather predictable way over time.

‘Slot got it right, though. Salah’s replacement – young Rio Ngumoha – did more in quarter of an hour than Salah had done previously and his influence undoubtedly helped Liverpool develop the late momentum that won them the three points.’

They added: ‘Can [Slot] really afford to take Salah out of his starting team? The last time he did that, Salah almost blew the roof off Anfield with his comments after a December draw at Leeds.

‘With Liverpool’s season currently teetering on a line between failure and something more positive, another outbreak of civil war is the last thing anybody at Anfield needs.’

It cannot be argued Salah has been well below his best this season, but he’s not alone in that regard and the player on the opposite side, Cody Gakpo , is the one who should make way for Ngumoha.

Gakpo has looked painfully limited throughout the entire campaign, and thus far, has struck up zero understanding with new left-back, Milos Kerkez.

What’s more, Ngumoha’s natural position – and the position he’s generally played during his brief Liverpool appearances so far – is the left wing.

As such, Slot can pick Ngumoha and avoid making headlines with Salah by simply dropping Gakpo, something a large section of the Reds fanbase have been craving for many a month.

It was initially Federico Chiesa who most Liverpool fans wanted to see given a chance if Gakpo were dropped, but Slot stuck by his Dutch compatriot.

If the manager is now willing to shake up his winger selections by drafting Ngumoha in from the start, it should be Gakpo and not Salah who takes a seat.

In other news, there are growing suggestions Nick Woltemade could leave Newcastle after just one season, and with Darwin Nunez emerging as a genuine option to replace the German, Liverpool could have the last laugh yet again .

Elsewhere, TEAMtalk understands that RB Leipzig sensation, Yan Diomande, has not agreed a deal or given his word to Liverpool or any club about his future, despite mounting speculation and interest from Europe’s elite – though he is a player to keep a very close eye on ahead of the summer window.