The sight of Mohamed Salah raising his hands to supporters after a fruitless cameo in an otherwise triumphant 5-1 win seemed to sum up his lack of influence in a new-look side.
Liverpool supporters are unlikely to have been too bothered by Hugo Ekitike‘s decision not to celebrate his goal against Eintracht Frankfurt.
After all, if the Frenchman’s early weeks at Anfield are anything to go by – six goals in 12 appearances – there will be more opportunities for the 23-year-old to revel in the acclaim of firing the ball in the back of the net.
Yes, it’s still early days. But make no mistake, Ekitike is becoming Liverpool’s main man. He is the here and now.
That notion was practically confirmed at the Deutsche Bank Park on Wednesday night, when he was chosen to start ahead of Salah as partner to Alexander Isak.
Just a few weeks ago, the idea of being selected for the Champions League tie against Frankfurt, sandwiched between Premier League games against Man United and Brentford, would have felt more like a supporting role than centre stage.
But after defeat to United condemned the Reds to a fourth consecutive loss for the first time since November 2014, a visit to the 2022 Europa League winners took on huge significance – and prompted some bold decisions from Arne Slot.
The Dutchman’s call to take Salah out of the firing line after a barren spell of just one goal in seven appearances suggests that he is ready to put all his chips on Ekitike and Isak, and ensure the recent run of poor form is seen as nothing more than a blip when the end-of-season reviews are aired in May.
That isn’t to say that the Egyptian doesn’t still hold some worth at Anfield, far from it.
Of course, this is a player who produced one of the all-time great individual campaigns less than 12 months ago to help Liverpool win the Premier League.
Salah’s toughest adaptation yet
However, with the arrivals of Ekitike and Isak, who have the potential to cost Liverpool in excess of £200 million, the focus is gradually shifting away from the Egyptian King.
Salah, of course, will still rack up plenty of minutes, and goals, for Liverpool over the course of the campaign, especially since Federico Chiesa is the only other player in the squad who can operate off the right.
He is almost certain to return to the side for Saturday’s trip to Brentford, with Isak a doubt due to a groin injury.
But if the early weeks of this term are anything to go by, it would suggest that those minutes are no longer going to be spent as Liverpool’s focal point.
And that perhaps will be the hardest adaptation the Egyptian has faced since moving to Anfield in 2017.
It is quite a contrast to where Salah found himself last season, when he was so central to Liverpool’s plans to win the Premier League that Slot effectively freed him of any defensive duties as part of a trade-off for his vital contributions in the final third.
This season, though, as Slot looks to put his own stamp on the Reds, he would be naive to centre his plans around a player who appears to be physically declining and also facing an uncertain long-term future at Anfield after signing only a two-year deal earlier this year.
Not to mention the fact that Salah could be absent for as many as six Premier League games across December and January when he represents Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations.
That’s why links to Bournemouth‘s Antoine Semenyo, who can play off both the left and right flanks, feel more substantial than the usual autumnal paper talk.
Further strengthening his case for a January move to Anfield is the fact the 25-year-old won’t be heading to AFCON, after Ghana failed to qualify for the latest edition of the competition.
In a somewhat strange parallel to Sadio Mane‘s final season at Anfield, it now feels like Salah could be heading towards a similar fate.
Liverpool’s future-proofing plans
The Senegal international, of course, saw his favoured position on the left flank superseded by Luis Diaz six months before his departure at the end of the 2021/22 campaign.
If Liverpool were to follow a similar school of thought with Semenyo, it would be a sensible and timely move from the Anfield hierarchy to future-proof the squad.
Therefore, it feels like this could be one of the final chapters of Salah’s time at Liverpool.
No doubt there will still be moments of brilliance from the Egyptian, but this campaign has all of the hallmarks of a season preparing for the changing of the guard at Anfield.
Luckily for Liverpool, Ekitike seems ready to seize that responsibility.
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