Mohamed Salah must avoid becoming the ‘next Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mesut Ozil’, warns Graeme Souness, with Liverpool talisman struggling for goals after signing bumper new contract

Graeme Souness fears Mohamed Salah could be 'in his armchair' now he's signed a new bumper contract at Liverpool - but hopes the Egyptian will prove him wrong.

After winning last season's Premier League golden boot alongside Tottenham Hotspur's Heung-min Son, Liverpool talisman Salah has scored twice in six games this season, but none in the last three games.

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The Reds fan-favourite also failed to contribute a goal in his side's 9-0 win against newly promoted Bournemouth.

And when club legend Graeme Souness was asked what's happened to the Egyptian's goalscoring form, the Scot admitted he feared Salah could have been affected by his new deal.

And he hopes the 30-year-old doesn't become another Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mesut Ozil, whose form dropped off after they signed new big-money deals at Arsenal.

"I mentioned Salah at the weekend, and I hope I'm wrong when I'm saying this because hopefully he saw it at the weekend and gets angry with me and says I'm going to prove him wrong," he began on talkSPORT's White and Jordan show.

"I just hope it's not the case with him that he's signed a new contract and he's got in his armchair.

"I say that because think of Ozil and Aubameyang at Arsenal, that's exactly what happened with them and a big contract."

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Following speculation as to whether he would leave the club with his contract running down, Salah's penned his new deal at Anfield in July, signing for three-year more years for around £350,000-a-week.

Famously, both ex-Arsenal stars Aubameyang and Ozil renewed their deals just before they had a sharp dip in form.

This is something Souness - who scored 55 goals in 359 games for the Reds - could see coming for Salah, even though he wants to believe he wouldn't fall into that trap.

Simon Jordan then asked him if it could be the absence of former attacking partner Sadio Mane - who left this summer for Bayern Munich - that was affecting Salah instead.

But the former midfielder stuck with his guns and said something seems to have changed within Salah's mentality since his new deal.

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"No." the talkSPORT co-host said.

"I was disappointed obviously in the result when they went to Old Trafford, and [Lisandro] Martinez went through Salah in the first five minutes in his left-back area.

"And the rest of the game Salah was looking over his shoulder to see where he was. Is he coming again? I've not seen that before, he's not someone who wants to get involved in the meatier part of the game, Salah.

"He's too quick, too clever, and too cute, but that's the first time I've seen him blatantly look for someone and not wanting to be kicked again.

"Just get on with it"

"I hope I'm wrong and Salah, if you're listening, prove me wrong - please."