Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah will be dropped in the coming weeks if his form doesn’t improve, according to former Leeds United striker and BBC Radio pundit Noel Whelan.
The Lowdown: Salah struggling for form
The Reds are going through an extremely tough spell at the moment, producing performances and results which are a shadow of the team that nearly won a quadruple last season.
Endless individuals are struggling for form at present and Salah is undoubtedly one of them, with the Egyptian not managing to have his usual impact in the final third.
He has only scored twice in seven Premier League outings to date this season, with his last goal in the competition coming at Manchester United in August.
The Latest: Whelan says Mo will be axed
Speaking to Football Insider, former BBC Radio Leeds man Whelan claimed that Salah could be axed from Liverpool’s team by Jurgen Klopp:
“I expect Salah will be dropped soon, and I don’t mean rotated, either. He’s been poor by his high standards this season and he knows that himself deep down.
“Jurgen Klopp has stuck with him up until now, but I think that could be about to change this week.
“Roberto Firmino is scoring goals and playing well, Luis Diaz is pretty much the first name on the team sheet and Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez will be pushing hard to start, as well as Fabio Carvalho.
“Salah will probably benefit from a spell on the bench, to reignite the fire and motivation of last season. Sometimes you need a horrible bit of medicine. He hasn’t been the same brilliant player since the African Cup of Nations.”
The Verdict: Feels highly unlikely
While Salah is undoubtedly not at his best currently, it would still be a huge surprise if he found himself out of the starting lineup for an extended period.
The 30-year-old still looks one of the Reds’ biggest attacking threats in most games and his work rate is excellent – he just looks short on confidence, like so many of his teammates.
Salah is simply too special a player not to overcome this current slump, however, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he returned to goalscoring ways against Rangers in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
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