Arne Slot could be about to get January boost that can determine the rest of Liverpool's season

Liverpool was lacking in the final third against Burnley on Saturday, with Arne Slot set to welcome Mohamed Salah back into the fold this week following AFCON's conclusion

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot.(Image: Visionhaus/Getty Images)

With so few options available to Liverpool beyond those who have been playing already, Arne Slot is hamstrung to an extent when it comes to who he selects.

The Reds boss has not enjoyed a perfect campaign by any stretch of the imagination, but he was unfortunate to lose Alexander Isak when he did. That Liverpool's roster looks so threadbare with only three players sidelined through injury, though, shows a lack of depth.

This week, Mohamed Salah will come back from AFCON. And while he does so having gone away in far from his best form, the return of the Liverpool ace could not be more welcome.

Quite simply, as Liverpool took on Burnley, with Florian Wirtz kind of playing from the right but ending up inside, and Jeremie Frimpong crossing more in hope than expectation or with much purpose, it was desperate for a proper wide man.

Cody Gakpo was too predictable off the left and Rio Ngumoha is only 17. Federico Chiesa, meanwhile, is a player best used off the bench here and there rather than from the off.

In the summer, Liverpool needs to address its lack of options in wide areas and sign a Luis Diaz replacement. In the meantime, Salah's comeback is likely to be where its best hopes lie.

Arne Slot has spoken to Mohamed Salah about his return to Liverpool next week(Image: Abdel Majid BZIOUAT / AFP via Getty Images)

"Everyone should look forward to [Salah coming back]," Virgil van Dijk told reporters at the weekend. "Let's see when he is back and hopefully he can help us.

"Obviously with his quality, he can win games and have good results. Mo is a very important member of our squad on and off the pitch and we are happy when he is back.

"Unfortunately, he couldn't get to the final of the AFCON. But when he is back, he needs to help us."

If Salah can get back to anything like his best, he will help transform the Liverpool attack. Wirtz has been playing well and contributing goals and assists, but the Egyptian should be able to help carry the burden.

Without Isak and with Hugo Ekitike therefore being asked to play a lot of minutes, adding another capable goal threat into the final third should, in theory at least, make a big difference.

After all, it wasn't the volume of chances that Liverpool struggled with at Anfield on Saturday, but the quality of them and then the conversion. At his best, Salah is the obvious solution to both elements.

"Even if I had 15 attackers, I would have still been happy that [Salah] comes back," Slot said on Friday. "That’s not our current situation, so happy to have him back after an important game he has to play."

The question for the Liverpool head coach is which version of the Egyptian will step into the arrivals gate from Morocco. The answer could go a long way to determining the extent of the Reds' ambitions from here.