ONLY a few weeks ago, Liverpool were on course to give Jurgen Klopp the perfect send-off. They were fighting on three fronts having already lifted the Carabao Cup. The positive energy around Anfield was almost tangible as Liverpool prepared to bid farewell to their best manager since the days of Kenny Dalglish and Bob Paisley.

Now, the mood around Anfield is darker. Liverpool were first dumped out of the FA Cup by Manchester United before suffering defeat to Atalanta in the Europa League quarter-finals. Most consequential, though, have been the dropped points and defeats to Manchester United, Crystal Palace, Everton and West Ham in the league.

Liverpool have well and truly fallen out of the Premier League title race over the last month. With just three fixtures left to play, they trail table toppers Arsenal by five points. That gap to the top of the table will grow to seven points should Manchester City win their game in-hand. There could be further twists in the title race, but it won’t end with Klopp lifting the trophy.

Klopp has already secured his legacy as Liverpool manager by restoring the Reds as a force at the top of English and European football. He will be missed on Merseyside, but it is increasingly becoming clear that the German’s departure at the end of the season is coming at the right time for everyone concerned.

Malaise has set in at Liverpool in recent weeks. This was highlighted by the argument between Klopp and Mohamed Salah that broke out on the touchline during Saturday’s draw away to West Ham with the Egyptian commenting afterwards that there would have been “fire” had he spoken about the episode.

Salah hasn’t been the same player since recovering from the injury he suffered at the Africa Cup of Nations. The 31-year-old has been extremely wasteful in front of goal and has lacked sharpness in and around the opposition box to such an extent Klopp dropped him from his lineup for the trip to the London Stadium.

In hindsight, Liverpool should have sold Salah for big money when they had the opportunity to last summer. There was interest in the Egyptian from Saudi Arabia, but the Reds decided to keep hold of their top scorer despite reports of a £100m offer. That money could have been used to find a long-term successor.

Klopp himself has already admitted his weariness in the Liverpool job and that has come across in his demeanour recently. The German increasingly appears exasperated by his own players who have faltered badly when Klopp needed them to find top form to stay within touching distance of City and Arsenal.

Arne Slot is expended to take over from Klopp this summer and the Dutch coach will have a big job on his hands when he does. Liverpool are in the midst of a generational transition that was started by Klopp, but must be finished by his successor. The sale of Salah would help Slot impose his own ideas on the squad.

Much of last summer transfer activity focused on the midfield where Liverpool pushed out Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and brought in Wataru Endo, Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai. These are all talented individuals, but cohesion has been missing at times this season.

The same could be said of Liverpool’s attack which is still too raw and inconsistent to lead a title-winning team. At the back, it also won’t be long until the Reds face a difficult decision on the future of Virgil van Dijk as he enters the twilight of his career. Liverpool find themselves at a critical crossroads, but Klopp’s exit could allow them to pick the right direction.