Exclusive interview with former Liverpool striker Emile Heskey about the current crop of Anfield sharp-shooters
Mohamed Salah and Alexander Isak have yet to show their brilliant best for Liverpool so far this season
Mohamed Salah and Alexander Isak have yet to show their brilliant best for Liverpool so far this season
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While the perception of a new-look Liverpool frontline department suggests it has been a struggle for Arne Slot, the Premier League champions only have one goal fewer than at the same stage last season. Back then, Slot's side were riding high, just a point behind leaders Manchester City with 17 scored after nine games.
Liverpool entertain Aston Villa on Saturday night having registered 16 goals so far this term after the same amount of fixtures, but the five shipped at the other end in 2024 is, alarmingly, now up to 14.
Such a porous backline sees the the Reds enter the weekend in seventh and they could find themselves 10 points behind table-topping Arsenal by the time the 8pm kick-off gets underway at Anfield.
Slot will be without Alexander Isak for the visit of Villa as the £125m man continues to recover from a groin injury picked up in the 5-1 Champions League less win at Eintracht Frankfurt than a fortnight ago.
But [Hugo Ekitike](http://Hugo Ekitike), whose £79m arrival in the transfer window preceded that of Isak, is expected to return to the team after the head coach made 10 changes for the Carabao Cup exit at the hands of Crystal Palace.
France international Ekitike has been the player whose adaptation period to life at Liverpool has been most impressive from the raft of summer signings that cost the club close to £450m, and with six goals already, the former Frankfurt star is the club's top scorer across all competitions.
"I like his willingness to work hard," says Reds 2001 treble-winner Emile Heskey. "I like his runs, and his willingness to run in behind. I love the fact that he’s got an eye for a goal, and he’s not scared to take players on.
"And I think he’s the one that’s going to feel hard done by when it comes to not playing, because he’s actually the one who’s started very well out of all the forwards. He’s the one. And when I say forwards, I mean all of them as well.
"Across the front three, I think he’s the one who’s really started the best. Alongside Cody Gakpo probably as well. But I think Ekitike’s been a breath of fresh air, to be honest with you. Again, you don’t know what’s going to happen when you’re bringing a young lad through and they’re from another country as well."
For Isak, the wait to catch fire following his British-record move from Newcastle United goes on. The striker did open his account in the Carabao Cup victory over Southampton in September but the lack of a proper pre-season - owing to his acrimonious exit from Tyneside - has left him playing catch up, which has had a knock-on effect for his fitness.
Heskey adds, in an exclusive interview with the ECHO via Dream Vegas: "I think it’s very important to get a good pre-season in, especially with a new team, a new understanding of how to play, and what sort of intensity is needed.
"Now we know he’s had a bit of a groin issue. That makes sense with his lack of ability to move around as sharply as we’ve seen before. The thing is, we need him back to 100%, not 50%, not 60%.
"So I think he’s got to think about taking his time and getting right back into the shape that we need him to be into pushing on because we’ve seen how good he is, we’ve seen what he can do, but now we need to see it in a red shirt."
Heskey scored 22 times for Liverpool in the 2000/01 season when they won the UEFA Cup, League Cup and FA Cup and the former England international was part of a squad that saw a lot of rotation in the frontline, with manager Gerard Houllier also able to call upon Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen and Jari Litmanen, who moved to Anfield midway through that campaign.
Heskey says he understands the need to chop and change to keep the marksmen fresh, stating: "The toughest thing in getting the best out of the squad is keeping them hungry.
"You’ve got two to three options in each position, and that keeps you on your toes. That keeps you hungry, that keeps you fighting, that keeps you wanting to be the best because you know that there’s someone in the wings wanting to take your place.
"So, I think that’s one of the places that you can have real competition at this moment in time. Isak and Ekitike, them two are competing for each other. It would be nice if they could play two up front together, but at the minute they’re great competition for each other."
The additions of Isak and Ekitike, alongside the £116m Florian Wirtz, following the summer sales of Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez, means Mohamed Salah is adapting, once more, to a changing Liverpool landscape up top and having to establish new relationships with colleagues as a result.
The Egyptian has scored four times this term but has been generally viewed as enduring a tough run when judged by the sort of standards that saw him finish as high as fourth in the recent Ballon d'Or awards.
"Yeah, that is tough at times [adapting to new team-mates]," Heskey says. "The interesting thing is, is it them understanding him, or is it him understanding them? He’s been the one that’s actually been there for us for the longest and a proven goalscorer, proven performer.
"At this moment in time, Salah’s not giving that much, so he needs to understand both sides. I think both sides need to understand each other.
"I think for Mo, we need to see a bit more of the Mo of old, a bit more involvement in the games, a bit more danger on the ball. Not just out-and-out goals, but involvement and being a threat at every given time."