Former England and Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney claims that British record-breaking signing Alexander Isak is not doing enough to warrant starting for Liverpool ahead of Hugo Ekitike.
Isak, 25, a Sweden international, cost £125 million to join the Reds from Newcastle at the beginning of September, but in seven appearances across all competitions, he has only scored one goal, in the League Cup.
It was his third consecutive Premier League start without a goal in Sunday’s loss to Manchester United at Anfield.
Ekitike, a fellow forward who was used as a substitute against the Red Devils, has three league goals and four overall for Liverpool.
On The Wayne Rooney Show, Rooney stated, “I would not play Isak; he has not looked ready since coming from Newcastle.”
“He has not had a preseason or trained. It is very crucial. He was most likely spending six hours a day at home talking to his agent in an attempt to get a move while Newcastle was training.
“Not having a pre-season is really challenging. Even though he may have done things on his own, he is now paying the consequences.
“He does not deserve to play before Ekitike in terms of performances.”
Liverpool had not lost four straight games across all competitions until November 2014, when they were defeated by Manchester United.
Despite starting the season with seven straight victories across all competitions, Liverpool, who won the Premier League last season, has struggled to consistently put on strong performances throughout entire games.
“They have gotten a bit complacent,” Rooney continued.
“You forget about Arne Slot because he won the Premier League, but he is still only 46 years old, and this was the first time in his career that he lost four straight games.
“I have never seen him argue with the officials on the touchline like that before [against Manchester United].”
“Things are beginning to take shape, which indicates that pressure is present.”
What is the situation with Mohamed Salah?
Liverpool’s talismanic forward Mohamed Salah, who Rooney considers to be “in the top five greatest ever Premier League players,” is also a cause for concern.
With 29 goals in 38 Premier League games last season, the Egypt international played a significant role in Liverpool’s championship victory.
But so far this season, he has not looked like himself, and he had a hard time making an impression against Manchester United, a team he had scored 16 goals against in 17 prior games.
Rooney went on to say, “Salah has been the main man and played a lot of games over the last few years, carrying that pressure.”
Before agreeing to a new two-year deal in April of last year, Salah’s future at Liverpool, whom he joined from Roma in 2017, had seemed uncertain.
“He signed a new contract, but it would not surprise me if he left the team in the summer,” Rooney continued.
“He is an amazing player, and I have enjoyed watching him, but I believe it may have caught up with him. It gets to you, even though you do not want to acknowledge it, and the next thing you know, you are gone.”
“Anfield wins big for Amorim.”
It was Manchester United’s first victory at Anfield since 2016.
With Sunday’s victory, Manchester United moved up to ninth place, just two points behind fourth-place Liverpool, despite Ruben Amorim’s team having a generally tough season thus far.
Rooney declared, “It is such a huge win for the manager.”
“Throughout this season and the previous one, I have questioned choices, tactics, and players’ motivation. That victory is huge. It is not easy to win at Anfield.
“I will be the first to say that the manager got it exactly right in terms of the confidence that the players and the team have.
“I am hoping for more of it. Liverpool is now two points behind. We must see this on a regular basis because I thought the performance was excellent, and we know the players can perform.”
