Rooney Urges Slot to Drop Salah Amid Liverpool’s Poor Form

Former Manchester United star Wayne Rooney has pointed a finger at Mohamed Salah as Liverpool continue to struggle this season, suggesting that manager Arne Slot may need to make a bold call regarding the Egyptian forward’s place in the starting XI.

Speaking on his podcast on Monday, Rooney reflected on Liverpool’s disappointing 3–0 loss to Nottingham Forest at Anfield  a game in which Salah once again failed to deliver a goal contribution. Despite scoring five times earlier in the campaign, the forward has gone several matches without influencing games in attack.

Rooney argued that Salah’s defensive work rate has dropped, insisting that it could be affecting the overall mentality of the squad.

“If I were Slot, I’d probably make a statement decision to shake things up,” he said. “Salah isn’t giving them enough defensively. If you’re one of the new signings sitting on the bench watching a club legend not track back, what message does that send?”

Salah, 33, made history last season by topping both the goals and assists charts while winning the Premier League Player of the Season award  a feat that helped Slot lift the title in his debut campaign after taking over from Jurgen Klopp.

However, despite investing heavily in the summer, including the high-profile signings of Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak for a combined £241 million, Liverpool have failed to find consistency. The Reds now sit 11th in the league with 18 points from 12 matches.

Rooney acknowledged that the emotional impact of Diogo Jota’s tragic death may still be weighing on the squad but insisted that it cannot excuse a lack of intensity.

“They’re clearly going through a tough spell,” Rooney added. “Of course, what happened to Jota must have affected the players  it would affect anyone. But that’s not a reason to stop fighting or tackling.”