Two Liverpool players are to ‘blame’ for Slot pressure as Edwards is backed to be first out door | OneFootball

Liverpool duo Mohamed Salah and Ibrahima Konate have been partially blamed for the pressure that Arne Slot finds himself under.

The Reds have been struggling to find form in the Premier League this season after winning the title at a canter in Arne Slot’s first season at Anfield.

Slot, whose side lost their tenth Premier League match of the season against Brighton over the weekend, has taken the brunt of the criticism for their poor form this term but former Manchester United chief scout Mick Brown reckons Konate and Salah have a lot to answer for.

Brown told Football Insider: “Slot will face the brunt of the pressure, but he’s not the only one to blame.

“If you’re looking for the root of Liverpool’s demise from being champions last season to the position they’re in now, two main players stand out.

“First is the mistakes made by the centre-back, Konate, and his performances so far this season.

“It’s been a major concern for Liverpool, how weak they look defensively compared to before when they were almost impregnable, and his form is a big reason.

“Mohamed Salah is the other, and the fall he has had from the records he was breaking last season to now where he looks a shadow of his former self.

“He scored 34 goals last season and now he only has 10. He’s not been anywhere near the levels you expect of him, and that’s contributed to Liverpool’s drop off.

“Both of those players, if you were Arne Slot, you could point to them as reasons things haven’t worked this season, but ultimately the buck does stop with him.”

Respected journalist David Lynch, who has been covering the Reds for years, insists Michael Edwards could be the first to leave, as the Fenway Sports Group’s CEO of Football has “very little input into Liverpool now”.

Lynch told Anfield Index: “Personally, I’d be quite surprised if Michael Edwards sticks around much longer, to be honest.

“We have to take him at his word that that was the driving force behind him coming to this role; it now no longer exists, and there is no wider football project now at FSG, it is now basically everything into Liverpool and go from there.

“I can’t really see why Michael Edwards would stick around now, which I don’t think is bad news for Liverpool, by the way, because on a day-to-day basis, he has very little input into Liverpool now.

“His project was aimed at widening things out a little bit. How many of the other staff who are tied directly to FSG will stick around in their roles will be interesting to see.”