Jose Enrique has been far from impressed with Mo Salah since the Egyptian suffered the heartbreak of defeat in the AFCON final.
The former Roma star lost out on international glory to former teammate Sadio Mane’s Senegal and subsequent qualification for the World Cup.
“I don’t know what’s going on with him since he lost the AFCON final,” the Spaniard told talkSPORT.
“He’s another player, he looks like another player completely and you’ve given him a contract, given him one of the biggest salaries in the Premier League.
“I actually believe that they should buy someone to compete to take his place right now.”
Despite this, the No.11 was arguably one of the Reds’ better performers in the dismal 5-2 defeat against Real Madrid, registering his 19th goal (and 28th goal contribution) in 34 appearances this term (across all competitions).
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It’s been far from an atrocious season for the 30-year-old, though it’s clear that his relative decline from the glorious heights of 2021/22 – in particular, the opening half of the campaign – is due in no small part to the ongoing struggles of the squad as a whole.
For one, Liverpool aren’t exploiting their strengths in offensive transitions as much as they used to with their average per game of possession won in the final third having dropped from 7.6 (2021/22) to 5.2 (2022/23).
That being said, new boys Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo are starting to show signs of an understanding on the pitch alongside Salah that will surely benefit us in the long-run in the English top-flight, either by utilising the frightening pace of both on the counter or their superb movement outside of the box.
Given that our Egyptian King’s contract does expire in 2025, however, some kind of continuity plan will need to be in place to ensure that the quality on the right flank doesn’t take a massive dip when the time comes to find a successor.
That moment shouldn’t occur in the summer window when the midfield and backline are in far greater need of investment, of course, though we’d imagine it’s something in the back of our recruitment team’s minds for the future.
You can catch the full clip below, courtesy of talkSPORT:
“Salah looks completely off!” 😱🇪🇬
“He looks like another player. They should buy someone to compete & take his place.”@Jesanchez3 demands #LFC sign another forward, to threaten Mo Salah’s place. 👀 pic.twitter.com/BNX6AyyNOC
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) February 22, 2023