Mohamed Salah came off the bench to impress in Liverpool's 2-0 win over Brighton, but Alan Shearer and Danny Murphy say questions over his future will persist
Liverpool have been sent a Mohamed Salah warning despite his return to action against Brighton
Liverpool have been sent a Mohamed Salah warning despite his return to action against Brighton
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Liverpool and Arne Slot have been cautioned that the debate over Mohamed Salah's future is far from over, despite the Egyptian forward's return to the squad this weekend. The Reds clinched a vital 2-0 victory against Brighton at Anfield in the Premier League on Saturday.
A Hugo Ekitike brace with the second from a Salah corner secured a crucial three points for Slot's side. Salah found himself initially on the bench after being dropped from the midweek squad against Inter Milan following his explosive interview last Saturday.
The 33-year-old revealed a strained relationship with the manager after three consecutive games on the bench, and didn't rule out a January departure, casting a shadow over his future at Anfield.
Despite being reinstated to the squad this weekend after peace talks on Friday, Salah's future at Liverpool remains uncertain. He will now head off for a month to captain Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations, with more clarity expected upon his return.
However, Match of the Day pundits Alan Shearer and Danny Murphy have warned that the conversation around Salah, his playing time and his future, is not going to fade away anytime soon. Even though he'll be away with his national team in the coming weeks, questions will inevitably continue to linger.
"I think what is also noticeable is I don't think it is going to go away as much as Arne Slot and Liverpool would want it to," Shearer explained on Match of the Day.
"It's settled down because he's away now for the AFCON as well, so it will quieten down, but the quicker that comes to an end, then the questions will start again."
Murphy then chimed in: "I agree with Alan. I think that short-term resolution was a surprise to everyone, but it makes sense the more you think about it. The club's the most important, and now it's going to stop for a while."
Salah acknowledged the Liverpool supporters as they belted out his chant at Saturday's final whistle, with the Egyptian star making an impact after coming on early for the injured Joe Gomez.
His corner found Ekitike's head for the Reds' second goal of the match, seeing Salah establish a new Premier League record for most goal contributions at a single club.
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Slot attempted to dampen speculation surrounding Salah's future during his post-match media briefing. "He wasn't the only player who walked around the pitch thanking the fans because the fans deserved a thank you from us," the manager stressed.
"Mo is going to go the AFCON now. I hope he is going to do very well and in the meantime we have to play here without him with not that many players available."
Gomez, who Salah came on for in the first half, is another Liverpool are likely to be without after he picked up an unfortunate injury after a bright few weeks at right-back.
Muscular issues for Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley, with the latter suspended on Saturday, had seen him required to play a lot more minutes than Slot probably would have liked.
A return to the starting XI for Florian Wirtz and Federico Chiesa being back in the squad was one boost for Slot especially following Cody Gakpo's injury and the knock suffered by Alexander Isak.