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Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah could miss four key games in the 2025-26 season due to his involvement at this year's Africa Cup of Nations, reports Tribal Football. The Egyptian forward was in sizzling form for the Reds this campaign, helping them win the league.
Salah scored 34 goals and set up 23 more from 52 games across competitions this season. The 33-year-old's contract was previously scheduled to expire this summer, but the player has already signed a new deal until 2027 in April.
Salah remains indispensable for Arne Slot at the moment, but the Dutchman could be without him for as many as six games later this year. Because the FIFA Club World Cup is taking place in June and July, the AFCON has been pushed to the end of 2025.
The tournament will now run from December 21 to January 18, so Salah could miss almost a month of action for the Merseyside club if Egypt reach the finals. The Premier League announced the fixture list for the 2025-26 campaign on Wednesday.
As things stand, the Egyptian maestro could miss crucial league games against Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers in December, and Fulham at the start of January. Should Egypt make it to the knockouts, Mohamed Salah could also be unavailable for the Arsenal game at the Emirates on January 7, 2026.
Are Liverpool eyeing a move for Hugo Ekitike?
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Hugo Ekitike
Hugo Ektike is wanted at Anfield this summer, according to acclaimed journalist Fabrizio Romano. The French striker was in fine form for Eintracht Frankfurt in the 2024-25 season, registering 22 goals and 12 assists from 48 games.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, as cited by Caught Offside, Romano suggested that the Reds' pursuit of Ekitike will depend on Darwin Nunez's future.
“Don’t forget how Liverpool are involved in the story for Hugo Ekitike. Because Liverpool are waiting to find a solution for Darwin Nunez. Darwin is expected to leave Liverpool. Napoli are in contact with the player’s camp, so Napoli are on it," said Romano.
He continued:
“There is also interest from more European clubs, but also from Saudi. Darwin was a top target in Saudi in January, and Darwin remains a target for this summer transfer window for Saudi clubs. And so let’s also follow the Darwin Nunez situation, because, with Darwin leaving, Ekitike is a concrete target for Liverpool.”
Ekitike is under contract with Eintracht Frankfurt until 2029.
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Deepungsu Pandit
Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over six years at Sportskeeda. He has written more than 9000 articles for the website, and has garnered over 20 million reads.
Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.
Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.
Deepungsu has been a Manchester United supporter since the year 2000. Unsurprisingly, his favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson and the Scotsman helped him get through some of the toughest days of his life. Like the fiery Scot, Deepungsu also leaves no stone unturned when it comes to accuracy in articles and only relies on credible sources.
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