Arne Slot has said he will have a conversation with Mohamed Salah before deciding whether he will be involved in Liverpool’s clash with Brighton & Hove Albion but admitted he has “no reasons” to want the forward to leave the club in January.
Salah was omitted from the matchday squad for Liverpool’s midweek victory over Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League following his explosive interview after the Reds’ 3-3 draw with Leeds United. The 33-year-old, who was dropped to the bench for a third consecutive game against Leeds, claimed he had been “thrown under the bus” by the club and that his relationship with Slot had broken down.
“I will have a conversation with Mo this morning,” Slot said in his prematch news conference on Friday. “The outcome of that conversation determines how things will look tomorrow. I think the next time I speak about Mo should be with him and not in here. You can keep on trying but there is not much more to say about it.
“We have spoken a lot in the last week after the Sunderland game there were a lot of conversations between his representatives and ours, our representatives and him, between him and me, and today I will speak to him again.”
Salah suggested last weekend that the Brighton clash could be his last for Liverpool, with the forward set to depart for the Africa Cup of Nations on Dec. 15. The Egypt international has been the long-term subject of interest from Saudi Arabia and could leave the club in January if a resolution cannot be reached with Slot and Liverpool’s hierarchy.
“I think we decided as a club – and I was part of that decision – not to take him to the Inter Milan and I am always in contact with (sporting director Richard Hughes and Fenway Sports Group’ CEO of Football Michael Edwards) but when it comes to the decision-making of the line-up or the squad they always leave it open to me,” Slot said. “That is not to say I don’t talk to them, mainly Richard not Michael, but I talk to him about so many things: the decision to play a player or have him in the squad – as I have experienced until now and I think this will never change – is entirely up to me.
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Asked whether he would like Salah to stay at Anfield beyond next month, Slot said: “I have no reasons not wanting him to stay, if that is a little bit of an answer.”
Liverpool are unbeaten in their last four games in all competitions, however they have won just two of their last 10 matches in the Premier League. Reflecting on his team’s recent performances, Slot said: “Apart from being unbeaten, we have shown we have been a team in the last four games that is difficult to beat and create chances against.
“The team has worked really hard, put a lot of effort in, been a bit unlucky in the results but showed great resilience, four games in 10 days with not a lot of players available.
“It’s a compliment to the players, how they managed to get some results and the effort they put in.”
