ONE particularly impressive aspect of Liverpool’s Carabao Cup final victory over Chelsea was that they managed to get over the line without their three top scorers.
Diogo Jota (£4.3m) was an expected absentee at Wembley as he’s facing at least two months on the sidelines following a knee injury.
But the absence of both Mohamed Salah (£6.7m) and Darwin Nunez (£4.5m) came as something of a surprise, despite the forwards being flagged as doubts in the days leading up to the fixture.
The injured trio have scored 46 goals between them this season – serious firepower missing from the Reds’ squad.
From a Dream Team perspective, the Egypt international’s omission was a particularly cruel blow.
Salah was by far and away the most-popular recruit ahead of Gameweek 25 following his ten-point haul against Brentford upon his return to action.
The 31-year-old was subsequently absent from Liverpool’s win over Luton in midweek but with Jurgen Klopp citing “fatigue” as the reason, it was expected the prolific goalscorer would feature against the Blues in some capacity with a trophy on the line.
Evidently, it was not worth the risk to include either Salah or Nunez on the bench.
Many, many Dream Team managers have therefore been left to regret their latest transfers.
Salah was over twice as popular as next most-recruited player prior to the deadline and his ownership is now up to 24.5%.
His price tag of £6.7m also makes him the second-most expensive asset in the game, meaning many gaffers would have comprised with downgrades elsewhere in order to facilitate the ill-judged transfer.
Liverpool’s FA Cup fifth round meeting with Luton on Wednesday might provide a lifeline of sorts.
It’s possible Salah may be deemed available in midweek and therefore could end up providing his owners with some points after all.
However, with the league very much a priority for Klopp, especially with the German tactician having now ticked off a domestic cup this season, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Salah was saved until the weekend for Liverpool’s trip to Nottingham Forest.
That visit to the City Ground will obviously take place after the Gameweek 26 deadline, meaning Dream Team bosses who opted to delay their recruitment of the 222-point forward can hop aboard having not been punished by their rivals who jumped the gun.
Klopp’s side also travel to Sparta Prague in Gameweek 26 for the first leg of their Europa League round of 16 tie.
Of course, there’s no guarantee Salah will be selected for either of those fixture at this stage either.
Thankfully, Dream Team bosses will be updated on the matter well in advance of the Gameweek 26 deadline.
It’s early days but Salah is currently the second most-popular recruit ahead of Gameweek 26 – transfers are able to be reversed prior to Saturday’s deadline.
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