London [UK], October 20 : Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher believes it is about time that the club's star winger Mohamed Salah should no longer be a guaranteed starter every week.
The last season's Premier League Golden Boot winner, Salah, turned out to be one of the most underwehlming performers for Liverpool, during their 2-1 home defeat against Manchester United on Sunday.
In front of a a bustling crowd in Anfield, Salah missed a golden opportunity to put his name on the scoresheet and level the scoreline after Bryan Mbeumo broke the stalemate in the second minute of the rivalry fixture.
With another flop show, Salah has floundered in finding the back of the net in seven Premier League games without a non-penalty goal, his longest such run since moving to Anfield in 2017 from AS Roma.
Carragher voiced his concern and believes it is time for head coach Arne Slot to rethink about using the 33-year-old, who signed a two-year contract extension at the end of the last season.
"I think we're at that stage now where Mo Salah shouldn't be a guaranteed starter every week. I do think this is a real conundrum for the manager going forward," Carragher told The Gary Neville Podcast as quoted from Sky Sports.
"I don't think Salah should be like a Virgil van Dijk where it's like 'first name on the teamsheet'. Liverpool have got two away games - in the Champions League at Frankfurt and then they go to Brentford. I don't think Salah should start both of those games.
Carragher further explained the rationale behind dropping Salah for away games and believes that if a situation arises when Salah is dropped from the XI, the Egyptian should have nothing to complain about the decision.
"He should always start at Anfield because Liverpool will be on top, around the edge of the box and more often than not he scores in those situations today. But I do think in the away games and helping your full-back, I don't think Salah should be starting every game right now, certainly away from home, with the form he's in," Carragher continued.
"Would he be OK with that? Probably not. But when you get to a certain age you have to understand that, especially when you're not playing well, where's your argument? It's different if you're banging in the goals and your manager makes a tactical decision and you're frustrated. I don't think Mo Salah's in any position to complain if he was left out of one of the next two away games," Carragher concluded.
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