Image Credits: Imago Images
The Mohamed Salah saga took another dramatic turn on Friday as Arne Slot confirmed he would hold face-to-face talks with the Liverpool superstar to determine whether he features against Brighton this weekend – and potentially whether he has played his last game for the club. Speaking at his pre-match press conference, the Dutch manager revealed that discussions scheduled for Friday morning would be decisive in shaping Salah’s immediate future, with the outcome determining his availability for Saturday’s crucial Premier League clash at Anfield.
“I will have a conversation with Mo this morning and the outcome of that conversation determines how things will look tomorrow,” Slot told reporters. “The next time I speak about Mo should be with him and not in here. There’s not much more to say about it.”
The comments represent Slot’s most significant intervention since Salah’s explosive post-match interview following last weekend’s 3-3 draw with Leeds United, when the Egyptian accused Liverpool of throwing him “under the bus” and claimed his relationship with the manager had completely broken down. The 33-year-old was subsequently left out of the traveling squad for Tuesday’s 1-0 Champions League victory over Inter Milan, posting a picture on social media of himself training alone at the club’s gym while his teammates were in Italy.
Slot did, however, provide a olive branch when pressed on whether he wanted Salah to remain at the club. “I have no reasons not wanting him to stay, and that is a little bit of an answer to your question,” the manager stated, suggesting the door remains open for reconciliation.
But it seems that Egyptian’s representatives are drawing up contingency plans.
Journalist Romain Molina has reported that Salah’s agent has been in talks with Serie A clubs, but warns that none of them could afford his high wages:
“The question is, what’s going on now?” he began on his YouTube channel.
“Given the financial situations, there is no one in Europe that will give him [what he’s on at Liverpool]. Yes, his agent is contacting clubs in Italy, but they don’t have the money.”
“We don’t have the impression that a transfer will be settled in the next days, and that’s why Liverpool has the best reaction. They say, ‘we’re not going to get rid of him’. Liverpool want him back and they still have confidence the player will find his mojo and decisiveness again.”
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