Owen on Salah's decline: age and changes in teammates

Mohamed Salah has only scored three goals in 10 appearances this season, but Michael Owen believes that is more than likely just a blip for the Liverpool forward

Michael Owen has shared his thoughts on Mohamed Salah's sluggish start to the campaign at Liverpool, suggesting it's most likely just a temporary dip in form. Wayne Rooney has been amongst those questioning whether the Reds should have handed Salah fresh terms, believing the forward's peak years may now be in the past.

However, the Egyptian has received backing to rediscover his touch in the coming weeks - something that's more probable if his team-mates continue their upward trajectory too.

On Wednesday, Liverpool triumphed 5-1 against Eintracht Frankfurt, with Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz springing into action. Arne Slot now faces a significant choice regarding Salah ahead of Saturday's Premier League journey to Brentford.

"Salah has been scoring goals for years and years," Owen told Sky. "Nobody would be surprised if he scored in his next game and went on a run.

"If there's anyone in the Premier League you shouldn't doubt, it's him.

"That said, if there's something more going on, then age could be a factor - he's 33 now. I retired at that age myself, so you can't go on forever. That's one possible reason.

"Another is that there's no Trent Alexander-Arnold feeding him those balls anymore - the dynamic has changed. Conor Bradley plays differently; he looks to run past Salah rather than serve him.

"I did some analysis on TV showing that Salah is picking up the ball about 10 per cent deeper on average than last season.

"The tactics haven't changed, but the personnel have. Or it could just be that the team isn't firing yet.

"Every attacking player goes through a spell like this. It's more likely just a blip, and he'll bounce back soon, but it could be a bit of all the above."

Salah has netted three goals this campaign but hasn't displayed the same ruthlessness he showed during Slot's inaugural season at the helm.

On this occasion, Liverpool secured victory in its opening seven fixtures of the term before enduring a four-match losing run, which was halted in the Champions League.

Following his omission from the Liverpool squad in midweek, he deleted all references to Liverpool from his social media accounts, and Slot will almost certainly face questions about his star player during Friday's press conference ahead of the Brentford clash.