Arne Slot is confident Liverpool can cope with losing Mohamed Salah to the Africa Cup of Nations mid-season, with Jeremie Frimpong among the options to fill in.
Bar any injury issue, Salah will join the Egypt squad for the Africa Cup of Nations this winter, meaning he will not be available for Liverpool for an extended period.
The tournament, held in Morocco, begins on December 21 and ends on January 18, with players linking up with their national teams for training shortly beforehand.
It means Salah could be absent for up to eight games in all competitions, including six in the Premier League, if Egypt go all the way to the final as they did in 2021.
“We definitely thought about that,” Slot told reporters on Friday.
“And we brought in Jeremie Frimpong because we think he can play as a right full-back, but I also think and feel he can play as a right winger.
“So yes, we thought about the fact that we’re going to miss Mo, I think for a maximum six games, but that’s a lot in the Premier League, especially if you see how well he did last season.
“Signing Jeremie Frimpong was for multiple reasons, but one of them was also that he could replace Mo if Mo is not there.
“There are other options for me to replace Mo with as well, but Jeremie is definitely one of them.”
Frimpong is in line to start at right-back against Crystal Palace in Sunday’s Community Shield, but the Dutchman was used in a more advanced role earlier in pre-season.
PRESTON, ENGLAND - Sunday, July 13, 2025: Liverpool's (L-R) Rio Ngumoha, Conor Bradley and Mohamed Salah during the pre-match warm-up before a pre-season friendly match between Preston North End FC and Liverpool FC at Deepdale. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
That came with Conor Bradley available and ostensibly considered first-choice right-back, though he is now sidelined with an unknown injury.
Slot still has Federico Chiesa as a possible option on the right flank, though he is expected to leave before the end of the transfer window and was more recently called upon as a central striker.
Interestingly there was no mention of either Harvey Elliott or Ben Doak when Slot discussed his cover for Salah on the right or his wider attacking depth on Friday.
Doak is attracting interest from a number of Premier League clubs and most recently Leeds, while RB Leipzig made contact over a possible deal for Elliott this week.