Arne Slot has no choice but to unleash £204m Liverpool partnership in Mohamed Salah absence

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The ECHO's Liverpool writers discuss what Arne Slot should do with his forward line when Mohamed Salah departs for the Africa Cup of Nations next monthLiverpool's return after the international break can't come soon enough. But there is another international issue that awaits the Reds next month.Mohamed Salah will once again depart for the Africa Cup of Nations in December, with this year's tournament moving slightly earlier than previous editions and ensuring that the Liverpool talisman will potentially miss more games than he has in the past.And with questions over the Reds' setup this season, and indeed over Salah's involvement in the starting line-up at all, minds have turned to just how Arne Slot could line up when the Egyptian is off representing his country.

We asked ECHO writers what they think.READ MORE: Liverpool could lose Mohamed Salah earlier than hoped as crunch AFCON talks continueREAD MORE: Hugo Ekitike has just caused new Liverpool dilemma but Didier Deschamps claim speaks volumesPaul GorstIt would be no real shock if there were some at Liverpool who were quietly hoping for a disappointing showing from Egypt at this year's Africa Cup of Nations.Anfield officials have always wished nothing but success for Mohamed Salah on the international stage and have accommodated the Pharaohs captain as much as possible to help over the course of his time on Merseyside.But with the Premier League campaign a difficult one, being without the top scorer of the last eight season is not ideal at a time when the fixtures begin to pile up around mid-to-late December.And with Salah wanted by Egypt for a December 14 friendly against Nigeria, there is still the prospect of Arne Slot being made to do without his talisman for even longer than initially expected. The caveat to that, of course, is that the Bundesliga side were woeful defensively on the night and Slot's side also scored two goals from corners.But with Salah due to be AFCON-bound soon enough, Slot might finally have to unleash Isak and Ekitike in the same team for a spell.Mark JonesWhile Mohamed Salah's previous AFCON appearances have elicited a sense of dread among Liverpool supporters, it doesn't quite feel the same this time around.It would be insulting and downright wrong to suggest that the Reds won't miss their third highest goalscorer of all-time, but this time around the absence feels like an opportunity.

The coming weeks provide plenty of chances for the club's summer additions to make their mark, and frankly the likes of Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz are going to have to do that some time soon.And it has almost felt as though Arne Slot has been using his side's Champions League away games to prepare them for being without Salah. At Galatasaray the Egyptian was left on the bench as the front three was made up of Cody Gakpo, Hugo Ekitike and Jeremie Frimpong, with Wirtz stationed behind them as the central No.10.The in Frankfurt, on a much more pleasurable evening for the Reds, there was no Salah again from the start and Ekitike and Isak were partnered in attack, with Gakpo and Wirtz wide in a 4-4-2.Liverpool's performance that night was one of the more fluid of the season, with the injuries suffered by Isak and Frimpong the only negatives.