Ange Postecoglou has claimed even Mohamed Salah would struggle in his Tottenham side despite the Liverpool forward’s red-hot form in front of goal.
Salah has scored 21 goals across his 27 appearances in all competitions this season and will now look to carry this 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 following a run of four games without a win, which included a 6-3 loss to Liverpool back in December.
Salah scored two goals and provided two assists during that meeting and despite his scintillating form throughout the 2024/25 campaign so far, Postecoglou has stated the Egypt forward would still struggle to thrive in his team.
“Mo’s a world-class player, but if you put him in our team at the moment, I’m not sure he would have the same impact because of the situation we’re in as a group,” said the Tottenham boss.
“He’s playing in a fantastic team that are flying at the moment. I’d hazard to say that if you put Sonny [Heung-Min Son] in Liverpool’s team, I reckon his goal-scoring return would be decent.
“It’s hard for our players at the moment, they’re trying awfully hard to be the best they can be.”
Wednesday 8th January 7:00pm
Kick off 8:00pm
No rush to determine Son’s long-term future after one-year option activated
Tottenham enter the showdown in north London buoyed by the knowledge that Son Heung-min will remain at the club until at least the summer of 2026 after activating an option to extend his contract.
The South Korea forward is an influential player for Spurs, scoring 169 goals in 431 appearances, but Postecoglou insists there is no rush to discuss his longer-term future.
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Tottenham have exercised the option to extend Heung-Min Son’s contract to keep him at the club for an additional 12 months until June 2026
“It’s not something that needs to be forced one way or another,” he said.
“When you’ve got a player like Sonny who has such a standing at a club – and I know how highly the club regards him and how much he loves the club – I just think it’ll all happen mutually.
“I don’t think the club will be in a position of trying to force anything or Sonny would try and force anything.
“There is enough respect and credit between both parties that those kind of discussions will happen naturally and I think will come to a conclusion that everyone is happy with.”
Ange: Carabao Cup success can help our future
Postecoglou has traditionally viewed league form as the best barometer of his team’s progress but with 10 players out injured and Pape Sarr and James Maddison serving suspensions against Arne Slot’s side, he believes something special could be forged in adversity.
Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou is hoping the Carabao Cup glory can set his team up for the future
“We’re having a tough season. Our league form is really poor and we need to improve,” he said.
“But we are in a semi-final of a competition and with the group of players we’ve got at the moment, if we can achieve something where they are in their careers, it sets you up really well for what we’re trying to build here. I think it does.
“It’s not the be-all and end-all, as I’ve said many times. But if we get to a final and win a trophy, we’ll look back on this period of where we are as a small group of players having to rise above and beyond to get there.
“That will be as worthy of the achievement as actually winning it.”
Watch Tottenham vs Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semi-final, live on Sky Sports, at 8pm on Wednesday.
