Soccer Football - Premier League - West Ham United v Liverpool - London Stadium, London, Britain - December 29, 2024 Liverpool's Mohamed Salah shoots at goal Action Images via Reuters/Peter Cziborra/ File Photo
(Reuters) - Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou said his team are struggling to such an extent that even in-form Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah would fail to make much of an impression as part of the side.
Spurs, who face the Premier League leaders in the first leg of their League Cup semi-final later on Wednesday, have dropped to 12th in the league and lost three of their last four games.
While Salah has scored 21 goals and provided 17 assists in all competitions, Postecoglou said the 32-year-old Egyptian would have his work cut out delivering similar figures for the London side this season.
"Mo is a world-class player but if you put him in our team now I'm not sure he'll have that same level of performance because of the situation we're in as a group," he told reporters.
"You need a team that's in good form, creating opportunities, playing on the front foot, having a really solid foundation of a defence that is cohesive. None of these things exist at the moment (at Spurs).
"We're relying on individual moments."
On the flip side, Postecoglou said Spurs captain Son Heung-min, who has scored just seven goals in all competitions this season, would thrive in the current Liverpool side.
"I'd hazard to say that if you put Sonny in Liverpool's team, I reckon his goalscoring return would be decent," Postecoglou said. "But when we're at our best, I still think you'll see Sonny's return."
Spurs activated a one-year extension in the 32-year-old South Korean forward's contract on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
