Emile Heskey has not been impressed by Mohamad Salah this season, but he does claim to understand why the Egyptian is having a hard time.
No Liverpool player will have been impressed with their recent displays and this is especially true of Mohamed Salah.
The 33-year-old sets the standard at Anfield and has been the club’s standout forward across a number of seasons. However, Salah has been slammed by ex-Liverpool players for failing to hit the mark during the current campaign.
Emile Heskey is the latest former Red to discuss Salah’s drop-off in quality. The retired striker is alarmed by what he has seen from Liverpool’s star player. In fact, he has compared him with one of the club’s old forwards, highlighting why Salah is proving to be less useful.
Heskey told Liverpool.com: “Salah is a worry because there is such a dramatic difference to what we’re used to with him.
“But even last season, I don’t think he particularly played well. He scored a lot of goals but I don’t think he played well.
“With Mo, he is not a Sadio Mane where if you don’t get the goals then you get the tenacity and the fight and the other things. With Mo, you get the goals; with Mane, you got everything.”
Heskey has taken aim at Salah for his lack of contributions, questioning what he offers the team when his shooting boots go missing.
However, he does not believe the solution is as straightforward as Arne Slot dropping Salah, because there is always the chance he delivers a moment of magic.
Heskey continued: “At this moment in time, when he [Salah] isn’t scoring, what is he giving you? That’s the problem. With Mo and certain forwards, they always have a tendency to score at a critical point, so how long do you leave him on?”
Although Heskey admitted Salah was not at his best last season, he has made it clear how the fan favourite has declined even more in recent months.
The former England international believes this is partly due to the summer departure of a player who created a large number of Liverpool’s goal scoring opportunities.
“I think the whole squad is missing Trent Alexander-Arnold,” Heskey added. “You have got to look at what he brought and his ability to create a chance as well. When it comes to that, yes they’re missing him but you can’t rely on one player to bring a performance out of you.”
The message from Heskey is clear Salah and Liverpool as a whole cannot expect one player to solve every one of the team’s problems.
If the Anfield outfit are to start getting results again, each individual needs to step up and play their part in making it happen.
