Liverpool have announced the signing of Mohammed Salah, and as expected, the pacy, goalscoring winger will wear the number 11 for his new club. Roberto Firmino, in an embrace of his role as Jürgen Klopp’s first choice striker, has decided to take the number nine.
Initial speculation had been that Salah might take the nine, a move that would have caused a few football traditionalists to grumble at a winger—even one with a tendency to poach goals and an ability to fill in up top in a pinch—taking a number normally reserved for strikers.
Earlier today, though, word emerged that Firmino, who wore the 11 in his first two years at Liverpool, was eager to take the nine for himself following a season when he impressed leading the line for Liverpool. In turn that would allow Salah to take the 11.
Salah arrives at Liverpool for a reported base fee of just less than £35M and reportedly having signed a five-year deal worth around £90k per week. The 25-year-old left footer is expected to most often play on the right wing while Sadio Mané mans the opposite flank.
1⃣1⃣#AnnouncedSalah https://t.co/kWCNO5hY5A pic.twitter.com/OLtukNrdqc
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) June 22, 2017