Arne Slot faces call to drop Mohamed Salah as his problem with Hugo Ekitike emerges

Arne Slot is facing fresh calls to drop Mohamed Salah from Liverpool's starting line-up. It comes after the Egyptian admitted he's struggling to build chemistry with Hugo Ekitike.

Salah has made a slow start to the new campaign, registering just five shots and scoring just once in four matches, and some, like former Reds midfielder Didi Hamann , have questioned whether the 33-year-old's age is finally catching up to him.

Hamann highlighted Salah's underwhelming display in the recent 1-0 win over Arsenal , where the forward's touch deserted him in key moments. "Is age catching up with Mohamed Salah? Well, it was always going to happen," Hamann told Adventure Gamers .

"He's 33 now, and for a forward player, you lose half a yard of pace, which makes all the difference. So it was always going to happen that he wouldn't score as many goals as last season, especially as he found it hard to score from open play in the second half of last season."

Despite these concerns, Hamann isn't writing off Salah entirely. The former Germany international, who won the Champions League with Liverpool in 2005, still views the winger as a potent threat capable of delivering match-winning moments.

"I still think he's a threat and deserves his place, though there might be times when someone else has to play," he added. "Against Arsenal, his touch let him down in a few situations. This rarely happens, and it might have been because he wasn't as involved in the game as usual. When you're in the game, you make good decisions."

Hamann speculated that Salah's lack of involvement could have led to overcompensation, forcing him to attempt something spectacular in limited opportunities. "If he didn't feel involved, he probably felt he had to do something special because he might not get another chance," Hamann explained. "So, I wouldn't read too much into it, it's natural. He will still score goals. We'll have to take it week by week, but he's rarely injured. I think his touch was the only thing that let him down."

These comments arrive at a pivotal moment for Liverpool, who have undergone a dramatic overhaul under Slot this summer. The Reds splashed over £450million on new talent, bringing in Ekitike for £69m, and smashing the British transfer record twice with the arrivals of Florian Wirtz (£116m), and Alexander Isak (£125m).

While the champions have kicked off their Premier League campaign with three straight victories - their performances have been far from convincing. Late goals were required to seal wins over Bournemouth and Newcastle , while against Arsenal, it was Dominik Szoboszlai's stunning free-kick that tipped the balance in a gritty 1-0 triumph at Anfield.

Ekitike, 23, has made an immediate impact, scoring in his first two league outings as well as in the Community Shield, but Salah has revealed that their on-pitch partnership is still a work in progress. He opened up about the challenges of adapting to his new team-mate's style, contrasting it with the seamless understanding he shared with former attacking team-mates like Darwin Nunez, Luiz Diaz, and the late Diogo Jota.

"So far I didn't figure the connections out yet," Salah said on the Men In Blazers podcast . "Like with Darwin or Lucho [Luis Diaz] 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."

Salah emphasised the ongoing efforts to forge a bond, pointing to training sessions and video analysis under Slot's guidance as key to unlocking their potential. "Sometimes I need the ball in the field. Sometimes we need [it] in the space," he continued. "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."

This admission highlights the early teething problems in Liverpool's revamped frontline. Ekitike's arrival was meant to inject fresh dynamism, but the lack of instant synergy with Salah - a player who has been the Reds' talisman for nearly a decade - could explain some of the early-season inconsistencies. With Isak now entering the mix as well, the bedding-in process may take longer than anticipated.

Hamann's suggestion to occasionally rest Salah dovetails neatly with these revelations. If age is indeed beginning to blunt his once-relentless edge, and if partnerships like the one with Ekitike aren't clicking yet, Slot might need to experiment with alternatives.

He's already shown a willingness to improvise, redeploying Szoboszlai as an emergency right back in Jeremie Frimpong's absence - with remarkable success. Now, with 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha, who announced himself with a stunning injury-time winner against Newcastle to become Liverpool's youngest-ever scorer, pressing for more minutes, and Isak's arrival adding genuine depth, Slot is hardly short of options.

The real challenge lies in striking the balance: get it right, and Liverpool stay ahead of the pack, but misstep, and the door swings open for their title rivals.

Dropping Salah, even temporarily, would be a bold call - after all, the Egyptian has been virtually ever-present and injury-free throughout his Anfield tenure. But, as Hamann points out, no player is immune to the ravages of time.

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