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Arne Slot has been urged to line up with Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike in a front two as he looks to get Liverpool's season back on track.
The Reds went into the international break of a heavy 3-0 loss to Manchester City – a result that means the team has lost seven of its last 10 games in all competitions. Some observers have theorized that Liverpool's recruitment over the summer is a reason behind the team's struggles this term, with suggestions that the overhaul of last season's squad – a squad that won the title – was too big.
Liverpool spent big to sign two high-profile strikers in Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak during the summer transfer window, and it has not yet become clear just how Slot intends to accommodate the two of them in the team in the long run.
Isak was an unused substitute during Liverpool's loss to City after a recent hamstring injury, and former Liverpool player Jermaine Pennant hopes to see him deployed alongside Ekitike when the club seasons resumes.
“From what I’m seeing right now, why not? Why not try that out?” Pennant, who spent three years as a Liverpool player, said on talkSPORT. “It’s not like we are firing on all cylinders and don’t need to change things, we do need to change.
“We need to find a way to get the most expensive player in English football history on the pitch, and also Ekitike who is our top goalscorer.
“Ekitike can drop a little deeper, even play on the left, and this is what managers get paid the big bucks for.”
Liverpool boss Slot was asked about the possibility of Isak and Ekitike playing alongside one another during an interview with TNT Sports last week.
The Dutchman allayed concerns over the pair's compatibility and said that there are a number of ways in which both players can be accommodated in the team at the same time.
“Hugo could also play off the left in my opinion or maybe around Alex, whereas Alex is more of an out-and-out number nine," Slot said.
“Hugo is maybe more a player that also likes to drop more in spaces coming off the left, whereas Alex, I think, prefers to be in the middle.”
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