Ange Postecoglou insists even Mohamed Salah will struggle at his Tottenham side despite the Liverpool striker’s red-hot form in front of goal.
Salah has scored 21 goals in 27 games in all competitions this season and will now look to carry that form into Wednesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final against Tottenham. Live on Sky Sports.
Meanwhile, Postecoglou’s side have slipped to 12th in the Premier League table after a run of four games without a win that included a 6-3 defeat at Liverpool in December.
Salah scored twice and provided two assists in that fixture, and despite his brilliant form so far in the 2024/25 campaign, Postecoglou has stated that the Egyptian forward will still struggle to make it to his team.
“Mo is a world-class player, but if you put him in our team at the moment, I’m not sure he’ll have the same impact because of the situation we’re in as a group,” said the Tottenham manager.
“He’s playing in a fantastic team that’s flying at the moment. I can say that if you put Sonny (Heung-Min Son) in the Liverpool team, I think his goal return will be decent.
“It’s tough for our players right now, they’re trying really hard to be the best they can be.”
Wednesday, January 8 at 7:00 p.m
Start: 20:00
Don’t be too quick to decide on Sony’s long-term future after activating the one-year option
Tottenham go into the north London clash knowing that Son Heung-min will remain at the club until at least the summer of 2026, when he will activate his contract extension option.
The South Korean forward has been an influential player for Spurs, scoring 169 goals in 431 games, but Postecoglou insists he is in no rush to discuss his long-term future.
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Tottenham Hotspur have taken up the option to extend Son Heung-Min’s contract to keep him at the club for a further 12 months until June 2026.
“It is not something that should be imposed one way or another,” he said.
“When you’ve got a player like Sonny who’s in a position like that at the club and I know how much the club values him and how much he loves the club, I just think it’s all going to be reciprocal.
“I don’t think the club will try to force anything or Sonny will try to force anything.
“There is enough respect and esteem between the two sides that those kinds of discussions will be normal and, I think, will come to a conclusion that everyone will be happy with.”
Anj. Carabao Cup success can help our future
Postecoglou traditionally sees league form as the best barometer of his side’s progress, but 10 players are injured and Papa Sarr and James Madison service suspensions against Arne Slot He believes that something special can be forged in adversity.
Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou hopes Carabao Cup glory can set his squad up for the future.
“We are having a tough season. Our form in the league is really bad and we have to improve,” he said.
“But we’re in the semi-finals of the competition and with the group of players we’ve got at the moment, if we can achieve something where they’re at in their careers, it’ll set you up really well for what we’re trying to build here, I think yes it does.
“It’s not the be-all and end-all, as I’ve said many times. But if we get to the finals and win the cup, we’ll look back at where we are as a small group of players to get there.
“It will be as worthy of conquest as to actually win it.”
Watch Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semi-final live on Sky Sports at 8pm on Wednesday.
