Mohamed Salah could impact Alexander Isak-Hugo Ekitike Liverpool partnership, Reds Champions League winner claims

Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike's prospective partnership at Liverpool could potentially hinge on the form of Mohamed Salah, a former Reds Champions League winner has exclusively told Sports Mole.

The Premier League champions' record signing Isak could be in line for his Liverpool debut in Sunday's top-flight clash with Burnley, having come off the bench for Sweden during their World Cup Qualifying loss to Kosovo during the international break.

The 25-year-old will almost certainly not be guaranteed for a starting role - Arne Slot has detailed his plan for the £125m man for the next few weeks - but the expectation is that he will eventually become the Reds' first-choice number nine when fully fit.

Isak's signing gives Slot the best kind of attacking dilemma given Ekitike's strong early-season form, while Salah has already claimed a goal and assist and remains an undisputed starter on the right-hand side.

However, Didi Hamann believes that the Egyptian's form may impact how Slot uses Ekitike and isak, who cannot start together in a 4-4-2 in his view.

Isak and Ekitike 'cannot' play 4-4-2 for Liverpool, Hamann claims

"One probably has to play out wide," the 2004-05 Champions League winner told Sports Mole. "Isak has played out wide, Ekitike has played out wide. I think they’re both best through the middle.

"Then you have to see how Salah fares because he found it hard to score goals from open play in the second half of last season.

"Again, this year, the dynamics with [Florian] Wirtz in the team changed. We’ll need to see. But obviously it’s good to have options. Both are exceptional players.

"Can they work together? Possibly, but I think only if one plays out wide, I can’t see them both playing through the middle, so it’ll be very interesting to see how Slot uses them."

However, another ex-Liverpool trophy winner has suggested that a two-striker setup involving Isak and Ekitike could work, but only if Slot makes sure of one thing.

Did Salah struggle to score from open play in second half of 2024-25?

When the final whistle blew on the 2024-25 campaign, Salah had cemented his place in history, having registered more direct goal involvements than any other player in a 38-game Premier League season with 47.

The 33-year-old struck a league-leading 29 goals of his own and set up an unrivalled 18 more, although as Hamann alluded to, the goals did dry up for the former Chelsea man as the year drew to a close.

Salah found the back of the net 18 times in the first half of the 2024-25 Premier League season, compared to 11 goals in the second half of the year, as well as just four strikes in his last 11 top-flight matches of the campaign.

Of the 11 Premier League goals that Salah managed from gameweek 20 onwards, seven were from open play, while four came from the penalty spot.

The winger's first of 2025-26 was an open-play strike in the dying embers of their win over Bournemouth, but as he is now 33 and will be going to the Africa Cup of Nations later this year, the onus should be on the likes of Isak and Ekitike to shoulder more of the attacking burden.

Didi Hamann was speaking to Sports Mole on behalf of Grosvenor Casino.