Michael Owen sees “a lot of selfishness creeping in” for Mohamed Salah, with the Liverpool forward accused of offering “extreme” concern for Jurgen Klopp.
The defending Premier League champions have been struggling for an attacking spark over recent week.
For the first time since 2005, the Reds have gone three games without troubling the scorers in the top flight.
Problems in the final third have rarely been a problem for Klopp throughout his reign at Anfield, with one of the most fearsome frontlines in world football pieced together on Merseyside.
Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino are, however, suffering a wobble at the moment, with the goals drying up for three proven performers.
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The expectation is that a spark will return at some stage in the near future, with there too much talent on Liverpool’s books for them to see a barren run extended.
It is important, though, that the Reds continue to work as a collective and do not allow individuals to try too much.
Owen believes that has been the case with Salah in recent outings, with the Egyptian forward once again trying to provide inspiration by himself.
“There is a lot of selfishness creeping in, I’ve seen that again,” former Liverpool striker Owen told Premier League Productions on the back of a 0-0 draw with Manchester United.
“Mo Salah is not passing enough of the ball again. He’s never passed it much, but there are extremes. The last sort of few games I’m thinking ‘come on’.”
It is not the first time that Salah has faced accusations of being self-centred during his time at Liverpool.
An impressive haul of 111 goals through 177 appearances suggests that he is doing little wrong, with a third Golden Boot being chased down, but he can frustrate team-mates and supporters at times.
Ex-Reds frontman Emile Heskey has told Sky Sports: “I think we all know with Mo, he is always chasing that Golden Boot, he is always wanting to score.
“There are times as an unselfish striker where you’re looking at him and saying ‘why didn’t you pass that ball?’ But this is what you get from top goalscorers, from people that are going to score you 20-25 goals a season.
“They have this relentless drive where they want to take every opportunity, they want to score every chance. They want to take goals off you and you don’t want to take that relentless streak away from them because that’s what makes them.
“That’s what has made him into the winger and the goalscorer that he is. I think he has to keep going and doing what he’s doing.”