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Former Liverpool midfielder Don Hutchison says Arne Slot might need to have an "uncomfortable conversation" about Mohamed Salah because of the Egyptian's current form.
Salah has scored five goals and assisted another three in his 15 competitive appearances so far this season, but he hasn't looked like his usual self. He has played well in two of the last three matches, but then looked off the pace against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium as Liverpool fell to a 3-0 defeat.
"I think he played really well against Aston Villa," Hutchison told Sports Casting. "I thought that was the Mo Salah of old. I thought he was outstanding against Real Madrid: that was the Mo Salah.
"Then there was another little poor performance against Manchester City. But that wasn't just him. It was everyone apart from Dominik Szoboszlai and maybe Conor Bradley who stood up to the task, because he never gave in.
"I think Salah's still got a lot to offer. Salah will definitely score goals in a team that's playing well and has its confidence back.
"And maybe the African Cup of Nations will be great for him to just wear that different shirt and go and play for his country, to take a bit of that stress away, in a different environment.
"But yeah, I think the uncomfortable conversation is how does he get in the Liverpool team going forward? He’s signed up for two years, so you might as well keep him this season.
"However, if you get a big money offer in the summer, then Liverpool will have to think about it."
There is a long time to go before that, though. Salah will go away for international duty mid-season and the likes of Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz will have to step up.
In a strange way, it might make the headache of fitting those players plus Hugo Ekitike and Cody Gakpo into the side a little easier for a spell, with the French striker deserving of his spot at the moment.
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"The last thing I worry about is Mo scoring goals again," Slot insisted after benching Salah in Europe against Eintracht Frankfurt last month.
"The main thing is that he has always scored goals for Liverpool. He's done that his entire life, and I expect him to do that again in the upcoming weeks and months."
Liverpool.com says: Salah hasn't been playing well but neither has the whole Reds team. If Arne Slot can find a way of getting consistency from just one or two of his attacking stars, that can drag the rest in the right direction.
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