Liverpool’s unbeaten start to the Premier League season has been accompanied by an undercurrent of unease surrounding Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian forward, so often the team’s talisman, has endured a subdued opening to the campaign, raising questions over his role in Arne Slot’s reshaped attack.
Among those voicing concerns is former Liverpool midfielder Dietmar Hamann, who believes the Dutch manager may soon face a difficult decision regarding his star forward.
“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.”
Salah’s muted showing in Liverpool’s 1-0 win over Arsenal reinforced those concerns. While Dominik Szoboszlai’s thunderous free kick secured the points, Salah was unusually peripheral. His normally reliable touch deserted him at key moments, something Hamann picked up on.
“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 explained.
Hamann suggested that Salah’s frustration at not being heavily involved might even have led him to overcompensate.
“If he didn’t feel involved, he probably felt he had to do something special because he might not get another chance,” he said.
But while Hamann questioned whether Salah can continue to perform at his extraordinary level, he stopped short of dismissing the Egyptian’s importance altogether.
“I still think he’s a threat and deserves his place, though there might be times when someone else has to play,” he added. “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.”
Slot’s Liverpool is already very different from the side Salah has spearheaded since 2017. The Dutchman oversaw a summer of sweeping change, with the club investing more than £450 million in reinforcements. Record-breaking deals brought Florian Wirtz (£116m) and Alexander Isak (£125m) to Anfield, alongside Hugo Ekitike, whose arrival was intended to reshape the attacking dynamic.
Results have so far been positive if not entirely convincing. The reigning champions opened with three straight wins — edging past Bournemouth and Newcastle thanks to late goals, before Szoboszlai’s brilliance proved decisive against Arsenal. Yet the manner of those victories has left open questions about rhythm, chemistry and identity in attack.
For Salah, who has spent much of his Liverpool career as the team’s central pillar, the challenge now is adapting to a side being remodelled around him. For Slot, the task is balancing respect for an icon with the need to establish a fresh blueprint.
Hamann’s comments tap into a wider debate among supporters: whether Salah remains untouchable or whether, for the first time in years, Liverpool might be better served easing his workload
