Arne Slot making Cristiano Ronaldo-esque change will save Mohamed Salah's Liverpool career - opinion

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Mohamed Salah once again looked subpar as Liverpool suffered their second loss of the season to Galatasaray.Salah’s form has declined dramatically in the 2025/26 season, and he is currently on a run of one goal in 11 Premier League matches.The reason for this is simple. He’s now 33, and his pace is going, meaning he needs to be moved into a more central role by Arne Slot if he is to rediscover his best form.

Would you be too disappointed to see him leave this summer?Credit: Burak Basturk/Middle East Images/AFP/Getty Images Mohamed Salah can’t play in a wide role for LiverpoolEven in previous years, when Salah was dominating, he was not what you would call a traditional winger.Both he and Sadio Mane preferred to take up inside forward roles and play off stars like Roberto Firmino, rather than sticking to the touchline.However, as was evident when looking at his heatmap [Sofascore] from the defeat in Turkey, Slot is asking the Egyptian to stay wide the majority of the time.Could Salah have taken up this role in years gone by? Perhaps, but as Toni Kroos and Liverpool fans have pointed out, the winger has lost his pace this season.

Slot needs to emulate other top players from the past, like Cristiano Ronaldo, and move Salah into a central role now his legs are starting to go.There are a couple of ways he could do this. That would see the Liverpool icon playing as a right-sided striker next to Hugo Ekitike, with Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong instead offering the width and pace.Another way could be to put Florian Wirtz on the right, start Rio Ngumoah on the left and then play Salah just off Ekitike in a sort of number 10/false-nine hybrid.He doesn’t have a lot of experience in central roles, but it has become so obvious that the 254-goal man is being hindered by his current instructions.I would personally prefer it if Slot stopped playing natural wingers altogether this season and switched to a three-back, as that would mean we don’t have to see Cody Gakpo on the left most weeks.But whatever the Dutchman decides to do, he simply has to find a way to push Salah into the centre; otherwise, there really is no point in him staying at Anfield beyond 2026.Join Our NewsletterReceive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox