LIVERPOOL GRUMP SALAH HEADLINES CURRENT PREMIER LEAGUE XI WITH HALL OF FAME SPOT GUARANTEED
Mohamed Salah is reportedly happy to stay at Liverpool but a transfer to Saudi Arabia feels inevitable. If he does leave the Reds this summer, he will depart as one of the greatest players in Premier League history.
With that in mind, we have put together an XI – including Salah and six Manchester City title winners – full of current Premier League players who are guaranteed to be added to the league’s Hall of Fame after they retire.
Mo Salah headed for Premier League Hall of Fame regardless of Liverpool future
GK: Alisson (Liverpool)
Kicking things off is Alisson rather than Ederson, although both will likely make the Hall of Fame.
Ederson has revolutionised how goalkeepers play in the Premier League and will go down as an all-time great, but it feels right to give Alisson more recognition, even if he has fewer titles to his name.
The Liverpool shot-stopper has been incredibly consistent since joining the club from AS Roma in 2018, completing Jurgen Klopp’s Anfield puzzle and making this team the finished article, ready to win the biggest trophies.
While Pep Guardiola has been superior to Klopp in their rivalry, Liverpool won everything under the German before City with Pep, and that counts for a lot. Alisson has been a huge part of that success and it was his arrival that helped get them over the line in both the Champions League and Premier League.
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RB: Kyle Walker (Tottenham/Aston Villa/Manchester City)
With 391 Premier League appearances under his belt, Kyle Walker has many, many miles on the clock but remains one of the fastest players in the top flight.
The 33-year-old is not just guaranteed a spot in the Hall of Fame, but is probably going to retire as the best right-back to ever play in Our League, surpassing Gary Neville in most eyes.
He became one of the best attacking full-backs in the league at Tottenham before a £50million transfer to Manchester City in 2017. This was, and still is, an extraordinary amount of money to pay for a right-back but after some teething problems, Walker adapted to Guardiola’s tiki-taka style and has been crucial in City’s dominance in recent years.
Walker has not been at his best this season but his importance was more notable than ever last year when Guardiola made City ridiculously solid defensively, opting for more out-and-out defenders in both full-back positions, with him on one side and Nathan Ake on the other. Without his defensive masterclasses against the trickiest and quickest of wingers in Europe, City might not have won the Treble.
CB: Virgil van Dijk (Southampton/Liverpool)
Another player making a strong case for retiring as the best the Premier League has ever seen in their position, the signing of Virgil van Dijk was equally as crucial to Liverpool winning it all as Alisson’s arrival six months later.
Van Dijk represented Southampton for two-and-a-half years after completing a move from Celtic, establishing himself as a top-class central defender. But it was at Liverpool that the 32-year-old reached a level of performance to surpass all others.
He went from being regarded as one of the best to the best, both in the Premier League and in the world, coming second in the Ballon d’Or voting in 2019 when he had a very good case for winning the whole thing, finishing seven points behind Lionel Messi. Van Dijk did at least win the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year Award and the English top-flight’s Player of the Season award.
Still going strong in the Liverpool backline, he might not win another Premier League title but he he deserves to be on the Mount Rushmore of centre-backs. You can decide who should join him.
Straight to the comments! Is Virgil van Dijk the greatest defender in Premier League history? Tell us your thoughts…
CB: Ruben Dias (Manchester City)
Joining Van Dijk in the heart of our defence is Manchester City juggernaut Ruben Dias, who cost the Cityzens a hefty £62m in July 2020. The 26-year-old has won the league title in each of his three full seasons and his side are in a strong position to make it four out of four.
Arsenal’s William Saliba has the potential to become a Hall of Famer but he has a long way to go, while Dias’ team-mate John Stones is also in with a shout, but we have to go with the Portuguese here.
He has everything required in a modern-day centre-back and has comfortably been in the top two Barclays players in his position alongside Van Dijk since his arrival four years ago.
At the age of 26, he could feasibly retire with seven or eight league titles, which is frightening.
LB: Andy Robertson (Hull/Liverpool)
If there is a debate to be had over the all-time best player in the positions that preceded this one, there most certainly is not when it comes to left-back. Ashley Cole has that one tied down and it will take some magic left-backing to surpass the Arsenal and Chelsea icon. Second place is up for grabs, mind.
One player in contention is Andy Robertson, who bought in to Jurgen Klopp’s gegenpressing style from day one after joining from Hull City, where he spent one season in the top flight before Liverpool pinched him for a measly £7m.
Regarded as one of the greatest bargains in Premier League history, the Scotland captain has been full of energy on the Reds’ left flank during the club’s recent successful years.
Perhaps the most debatable inclusion in this team, we must emphasise that we had to select a left-back and nobody else comes close to Robertson.
DM: Rodri (Manchester City)
Like with Dias, it is pretty scary to think that Rodri is only 27 years young. He joined a summer earlier than his team-mate and has as many Premier League titles under his belt.
The midfield maestro is a player who goes beyond the stats and even if you focus on goals and assists only, he has a remarkable seven and seven in the top flight this season. Rodri is cool as a cucumber under pressure, is a pinpoint passer, has one hell of a strike on him, can play with both feet, and doesn’t let the fact he is relatively slow affect him in the slightest. He really is the Sergio Busquets of Guardiola’s City. He is indispensable.
The central/defensive midfielder debate is a good one and full of incredible players past and present, but Rodri is more than welcome to sit at the same table as Roy Keane, Patrick Vieira and N’Golo Kante. The Spaniard has been nothing short of phenomenal. And he plays with his shirt tucked in, which is pretty revolutionary in this day and age.
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CM: Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
Boring, boring Manchester City have another player in this team. What were we supposed to do? It is impossible not to include so many from the Etihad and Anfield; they are the only title winners since Chelsea’s triumph in 2017.
There are several City players unsurprisingly sealing their Premier League heritage as they continue their domination and after waxing lyrical about Rodri, Walker, Dias and Ederson, it would be rude not to gush over Kevin De Bruyne, who has been their best player since his 2015 arrival from Wolfsburg.
Not so long ago it felt impossible and probably a little bit rude to speak about any current midfielders reaching the same level as English darlings Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Paul Scholes, yet here we are sitting and wondering if De Bruyne is better than all three.
There is certainly a debate to be had, whether you like it or not. Shelving that to the side for now, De Bruyne has been the catalyst to City’s success under Guardiola, becoming only the fifth player to clock over 100 assists.
CM: James Milner (Leeds/Newcastle United/Aston Villa/Manchester City/Liverpool/Brighton)
You will be delighted to learn that there are no more current Manchester City players in this team, but James Milner is one of two more former title winners.
Back in November 2002, A 16-year-old Milner made his top-flight debut for Leeds United, becoming the second-youngest player in Premier League history. He then became the youngest goalscorer in the division’s history when he netted against Sunderland on Boxing Day that year.
Now 38 years of age, Milner has made 634 Premier League appearances, surpassing Ryan Giggs to move up to second behind record holder Gareth Barry, who turned out 652 times in his career. He has only played 15 times for Brighton in the league this season but as one of the fittest footballers around, he has plenty left in the tank to surpass Barry.
Milner enjoyed spells with Leeds, Newcastle and Aston Villa before becoming a Premier League winner at Man City twice. He then helped Liverpool win their first Premier League title in 2020 and was used in several positions by Klopp, who knew Milner was about as useful and versatile as a slotted spoon.
RW: Mohamed Salah (Chelsea/Liverpool)
Here he is, the man of the moment. Mr Grumpy Pants. David Ornstein says he is not leaving Liverpool and it would be awfully foolish to ignore what he has to say, but there is an inevitability about the Egyptian going to Saudi Arabia this summer. The Reds can get a monstrous amount of cash for him, which will go a long way to helping their massive overhaul following the exit of Klopp and the arrival of Arne Slot.
There is no doubt that Liverpool would miss Salah if he is sold but at the age of 31 and with only one year left on his contract as of June, they would be very silly to reject a £100m-plus bid from a Saudi club. Then it would be down to Salah himself.
He is a Liverpool legend and one of the most relentless forwards Our League has ever seen. 17 goals in 29 league matches this season is viewed as a disappointing return, which says everything you need to know about the man with 210 goals and 88 assists in a Reds shirt.
Salah was signed by Liverpool for around £30m from AS Roma in 2017 and the purchase and price was heavily debated, due to his underwhelming spell at Chelsea between January 2014 and July 2016.
Liverpool Salah has been far from underwhelming. He has been absolutely ridiculous.
READ MORE: Salah ‘should never play for Liverpool again’ after ‘disrespecting’ Klopp in a way Ronaldo wouldn’t
LW: Raheem Sterling (Liverpool/Manchester City/Chelsea)
Any debate about Raheem Sterling’s heritage is quite frankly preposterous. He reached 100 Premier League goals at the age of 27 and has won four league titles, one FA Cup and five League Cups.
Yes, he might be a bit pants now at Chelsea, but who hasn’t been? Only Cole Palmer, mate. Cut Sterling some slack.
He is still one of the best attackers in the Premier League over the last decade, left Liverpool at a young age to win things and did so with ease, proving himself to be a crucial player in an extremely successful Man City team.
In our eyes, he is absolutely guaranteed a place in the Hall of Fame.
ST: Heung-min Son (Tottenham)
Perhaps another player up for debate, we can understand if you think Heung-min Son does not merit a place in the Hall of Fame. He has no trophies at Tottenham, let alone Premier League titles, but he has been a huge part of a couple of great teams and formed one of the league’s best attacking partnerships of all time with Harry Kane.
Outstanding with both feet, clinical in front of goal, rapid with and without the ball, Son is one of the best wingers the Premier League has seen since his move from Bayer Leverkusen in August 2015.
Excluding his first year at the club, the Spurs captain has scored at least 10 goals and assisted at least six in every single season in the Premier League, impressing with 27 goal contributions in 2020/21 and then 30 in 35 the following campaign.
It was tempting to put Erling Haaland in this team but he surely needs to play at least one or two more seasons in England, which is not guaranteed with those Real Madrid rumours refusing to go away.
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