FOOTBALL UPDATE

Real Madrid want to sign Mohamed Salah in response to Barcelona’s £146 million purchase of Philippe Coutinho.  Barcelona completed their huge money move for Philippe Coutinho and have added a very talented player to their squad to help plug the gap left by Neymar when he left in the summer to join Paris Saint-Germain. Of course, the La Liga giants have done very well this season, leading the pack in Spain by 9 points and ahead of Real Madrid by 16 points. According to Gianluca Di Marzio, the current Champions League title holders are keen on sending a message to Barcelona and believe a similar raid on Liverpool to sign Mo Salah would do the trick. The Galacticos are huge admirers of Salah (who isn’t?) and believe the African Player of the Year recipient to be a player worthy of pulling on the white Madrid shirt. Di Marzio writes that “the Spanish club will now try to tempt the Egyptian winger and sign him, as Barcelona did with Coutinho.” If this is tr...

Mohamed Salah has won the African footballer of the year award Prolific Liverpool scorer Mohamed Salah was named African Player of the Year in Ghanaian capital Accra on Thursday, the first Egyptian to win the award since Mahmoud al Khatib in 1983. The 25-year-old has scored 23 goals in 29 matches in all competitions this season for the Premier League outfit after moving from AS Roma in the summer. He also starred for resurgent Egypt, who last year finished runners-up to Cameroon in the Africa Cup of Nations and secured a first World Cup appearance since 1990. In the penultimate round of World Cup qualifying, Salah scored the brace that edged Congo Brazzaville in Alexandria, including the stoppage-time winner from a penalty that sealed a trip to Russia. Salah’s Liverpool teammate Sadio Mane, of Senegal, was runner-up and 2015 winner, Gabon and Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang third after a 30-player list had been trimmed to three. National coaches, Confed...

Philippe Coutinho and Mohamed Salah are doubts for Liverpool's FA Cup tie with Everton on Friday after missing the Premier League win at Burnley. The attacking pair were absent from the matchday squad at Turf Moor, where the Reds claimed a dramatic 2-1 victory in stoppage-time to secure a third successive win. And their respective minor thigh and groin injuries will need assessment ahead of the Merseyside derby, with both ‘at least a doubt’ as it stands. “Phil are Mo are injured, not massively but enough for today [to be] no chance. And [they are] a doubt, at least a doubt, for Everton,” said Jürgen Klopp.

Mohamed Salah scored twice as Liverpool came from behind to maintain their push for a Champions League place with 2-1 victory over Leicester on Saturday. Jamie Vardy put Leicester ahead but Liverpool, who had new £75 million ($100 million) signing Vigil van Dijk watching from the Anfield stands, fought back after the interval to secure the points. Salah was again instrumental for Jurgen Klopp's side as he took his tally to 17 Premier League goals this season with two fine finishes. Liverpool, who remain fourth, are four points clear of fifth placed Tottenham. Klopp's goalkeeper rotation policy saw Loris Karius start ahead of Simon Mignolet, who dropped to the bench, and after just three minutes the German was forced to pick the ball out of the net. Joel Matip's timid pass from the back sold Emre Can short and Vicente Iborra's sharpness saw him steal possession and quickly release Riyad Mahrez down the right flank. The Algeria winger glided past left-back And...