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Former Leeds United forward Noel Whelan has opined that Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp will drop Mohamed Salah soon from the starting XI.
Salah has enjoyed a rather lackluster start to his campaign this term, scoring four goals and providing four assists from 10 games across all competitions.
The Egyptian, however, has been phenomenal throughout his time at the club since joining from AS Roma in 2017. He has scored 160 goals and provided 67 assists in 264 games for the Reds.
He was recently tied down to a three-year contract that runs to June 2025. However, Whelan believes Klopp needs to drop Salah as the No. 11 has been far from his best.
Here's what the 47-year-old told Football Insider:
“I expect Salah will be dropped soon, and I don’t mean rotated, either, He’s been poor by his high standards this season and he knows that himself deep down. Jurgen Klopp has stuck with him up until now, but I think that could be about to change this week."
Salah was not on the scoresheet as Liverpool were held to a 3-3 draw against Brighton & Hove Albion at Anfield on October 1.
Whelan believes with the likes of Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez, and Fabio Carvalho pushing for a starting spot, the Egyptian would benefit from a spell on the bench. He said:
"Roberto Firmino is scoring goals and playing well, Luis Diaz is pretty much the first name on the team sheet and Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez will be pushing hard to start, as well as Fabio Carvalho."
He added:
"Salah will probably benefit from a spell on the bench, to reignite the fire and motivation of last season. Sometimes you need a horrible bit of medicine. He hasn’t been the same brilliant player since the African Cup of Nations."
Salah was the joint winner of the Premier League Golden Boot with Son Heung-Min, both scoring 23 goals.
Jurgen Klopp is not in a rush with Darwin Nunez
Darwin Nunez hasn't made the best start to his life under Jurgen Klopp since joining from Benfica for a club-record fee of £85 million.. The Uruguyan has scored two goals and provided one assist in seven appearances for the Reds so far.
That said, Jurgen Klopp is not worried about the player as he implied it takes time to adapt to the new league. Here's what the German coach said to the media ahead of his team's UEFA Champions League clash against Rangers (via liverpool.com):
"It’s good. Of course he is still adapting, how players always adapt. New players come in and everybody talks about them and wants them to shine immediately. That happens from time to time, and sometimes not."
