"He needs to be left out because he's not doing himself justice" – John Aldridge urges Jurgen Klopp to drop Liverpool star

Former Liverpool striker John Aldridge has claimed that out-of-form superstar Mohamed Salah should be dropped from the starting XI.

Salah, 30, has been a shadow of his usual self this term. During the 2021-22 season, he top-scored for the Reds with 31 goals across all competitions. He also contributed 16 assists in 51 matches, helping his side lift the FA Cup trophy and the League Cup.

However, the Egyptian has been underwhelming in front of goal in the ongoing campaign. He has registered just five goals and four assists in 12 appearances across all competitions for Liverpool.

In his column for Liverpool Echo, Aldridge suggested that Salah should be left out of the first-team for the sake of his side. He wrote:

"I'm one of Mo Salah's biggest fans but he needs to be dropped. He needs to be left out because he's not doing himself justice and he's not doing the team justice.

"It doesn't matter whether you're Mo Salah, Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi. At that stage, you've got to be left out for your own good."

He continued:

"Whether Klopp can actually do that now that [Luis] Diaz is injured, I don't know. Mo's not the only one, don't get me wrong. There are so many players below form and they have been for a while.

"The manager's trying to get them to play through it. It's very loyal but he doesn't really have many alternatives."

Analyzing the Reds' defensive frailties, Aldridge added:

"They've given themselves too much to do time and time again. You can't play games, as good as they are going forward, you can't be playing games where you need three or four goals to get a result.

"No clean sheets in the league for a while, since Everton. It's worrying, of course it's worrying."

Liverpool are currently 10th in the 2022-23 Premier League standings with 10 points from eight games. The club will next face Rangers at the Ibrox in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday (October 12).

Liverpool dealt three major injury blows

During their 3-2 loss at Arsenal on Sunday (October 9), Liverpool lost Luis Diaz, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joel Matip to their respective injuries.

Diaz, 25, is expected to be sidelined for more than two months after suffering a knee injury at the Emirates Stadium.

On the other hand, Alexander-Arnold is set to miss two weeks of action with an ankle issue. Matip has been ruled out for two to three weeks due to a calf problem.