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Mohamed Salah has confessed that he is still finding his footing with new teammate Hugo Ekitike. The Egyptian forward is part of a revamped Reds frontline featuring Ekitike and Florian Wirtz, with Alexander Isak also set to join the ranks post-international break.
The Merseyside club splurged over $600million in the summer transfer window, with Isak, Wirtz, and Ekitike being the priciest acquisitions. They've filled the void left by Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez, who departed during the window, and Diogo Jota, who tragically lost his life in a car accident.
Despite a promising start with three consecutive Premier League victories over Bournemouth, Newcastle, and Arsenal, and Ekitike netting in his first two league matches, the overall performance leaves room for improvement as he faces a battle for a starting spot with Isak.
Late goals were needed in the initial two games, and a spectacular Dominik Szoboszlai free-kick was the decider against the Gunners.
Salah found the back of the net against Bournemouth and set up Rio Ngumoha's last-minute winner at St James' Park, but he admits he's yet to hit his stride.
Speaking on the Men In Blazers podcast, he acknowledged that it will take time to gel with Ekitike and the rest of the team.
"So far I didn't figure the connections out yet," Salah admitted. "Like with Darwin or Lucho or the guys they used to play in front, or Diogo.
"I knew where to start with Diogo or Darwin. I know where to find them. I knew their game very well but with Hugo he's still new.
"Sometimes I need the ball in the field. Sometimes we need it in the space. We try to figure that out, through the training sessions or like the videos.
'The manager shows us. So I will figure it out soon because also it's going to help my game to grow as well."
Alongside Isak, Wirtz and Ekitike, Salah is featuring with the 17-year-old prospect Ngumoha. The youngster demonstrated his poise by slotting home Salah's delivery to clinch the 3-2 victory against Newcastle, and he possesses an excellent role model in the Egyptian icon.
"So what future is waiting for him? It depends how he's going to handle the situation," Salah remarked about Ngumoha.
"How are we going to work? I need to work hard and just stay humble because he's very young. I told him that some players peak too early and they're going to struggle after that.
"I really wish him the best. He has a good group (here around him) and we always try to speak with him – and the manager also speaks to him, so he just need to stay humble and work and see how things go."
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