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Liverpool legend Graeme Souness has shared his concerns about key Reds duo Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah, who have both been questioned at times during the opening months of the season.
At the weekend, Arne Slot's men lost 3-0 at home to Nottingham Forest. They have now lost as many Premier League matches as they have won this season, and currently sit 11th in the table — albeit only two points off the Champions League places.
"People are saying that Dominik Szoboszlai has had a great start to the season," Reds legend Souness told the Liverpool ECHO. "With the ball, yes. But without the ball, I’m not sure about the transitions.
"Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch are good at that — in those three midfield players, you have experience in winning the Premier League, and then you try and introduce Florian Wirtz into that, and I think he’s playing catch-up.
"For the rest of the squad, they’re conceding goals that they don't normally. Virgil van Dijk is now 34, and he made two mistakes in the Community Shield final.
"He was at fault for both goals just by being six inches too late. There is no doubt about it, at 34, the decline has started. He is still a wonderful player, but he will be on that slope, and the same with Mohamed Salah— that worries me."
Van Dijk and Salah have also been criticized by Wayne Rooney this season. He reiterated his stance on the latter needing to be dropped on his BBC podcast this weekend.
"I think Slot's got a big job to get them back playing and winning," he said. "The big thing is when he has a run of results like this, Klopp's name keeps getting brought up.
"It's a bit like the presence with Sir Alex Ferguson. For instance, when David Moyes came in [at Manchester United] and [Louis] Van Gaal, Fergie's name would always get brought up.
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"With Slot, Klopp keeps getting brought up. 'He's not Jurgen Klopp, he's not as good as Jurgen Klopp'. But I think the Liverpool fans just need to move away from that and get behind him.
"If I was Slot, I'd try and make a big decision just so it has an impact on the rest of the team. Salah is not helping them defensively.
"If you're one of the players who they've signed and you're on the bench and you've seen him not running — and again he's a club legend and everything he's done for the club — but if you're on the bench, then what message does that send to you?"
Liverpool.com says: Salah and Van Dijk have not been playing at their best, but it is hard to impress in a struggling team. Do they need to drag the rest of the players forward, or will they get better when the rest is in place?
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