The build-up to Brighton has been dominated by uncertainty rather than clarity, a situation that only heightens the scrutiny around Mo Salah.
Arne Slot confirmed in his pre-Brighton press conference that he still had not spoken to the Egyptian before Friday morning, saying: “I will have a conversation with Mo this morning.”
He added that “the outcome of that conversation determines how things will look [on Saturday]”, which leaves us and everyone else waiting to see whether our No.11 is welcomed back into the squad or kept at arm’s length once again.
The Dutchman admitted that “after the Sunderland game there were a lot of conversations between his representatives and ours, between him and me,” but the lack of a fresh update suggests this saga has not moved forward in the way many expected.
We know the club decided not to take him to Inter Milan, with our head coach explaining: “We decided as a club and I was part of that decision not to take him to the Inter Milan game.”
Slot said the next public comment he wants to make about Salah should be “with him”, and added: “I have no reasons to not want him to stay.”
Salah situation creates pressure on Slot and Liverpool
The tension now lies in whether Slot feels able to pick a player who criticised him so publicly after the Leeds draw.
Especially when Steven Gerrard has explained that Salah “said a couple of lines within the interview that are wrong and I think he needs to apologise for that”, a view many inside the game quietly share.
We have also seen the dressing-room debate intensified by former Egypt forward Mido, who argued that once a winger “loses this confidence with the manager… it’s hard to be fixed”, adding that he thinks it’s time for the club legend to leave Anfield.
Salah decision may define the weekend and beyond
Salah has every right to be frustrated at a lack of minutes, but the way he voiced that frustration has brought consequences, including being left out as we claimed an outstanding Champions League win in Milan.
That victory showed the squad is still fighting for our manager, even as the conversation around our greatest modern goalscorer continues to split opinion.
The bare numbers say we lost six of seven with him in the starting line-up, then went unbeaten in four without him, meaning Slot’s choice for Brighton is more than a selection – it is a message.
With AFCON on the horizon and this potentially Salah’s final game before a decisive January, the timing intensifies everything.
If he returns without addressing what happened at Elland Road, critics will argue that the standards we expect from anyone representing us have been compromised.
If he remains out again, it may accelerate an ending few of us imagined even a month ago.
Saturday might finally tell us whether Slot and Salah can realign, or whether the separation that began at Leeds becomes irreversible.
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Poster, please explain why we won 5 out of 5 with Salah in the squad at the beginning of the season. Otherwise, the statement we lost 6 out of 7 with Salah in the squad holds no weight.
What I read into the press conference was that the decision was made a while ago. Salah won’t be playing again this season. Why are we talking to Salah representatives and his people, to work out a way of selling him quickly in January. What it also says about Liverpool football club is who’s actually running it. The main man isn’t slot, it’s Richard Hughes. He has total power. He got rid of diaz and now it’s Salah. You wouldn’t mind if the replacements were up to scratch. Keep buying players from Bournemouth. It’s hard to believe that you can spend 450 million and get worse. But we are seeing it, this season . What did Richard Hughes actually achieve to gain so much influence and power at Liverpool then
For me slot is just a yes man. Is he really picking the team, or does he get regular phone calls from Richard Hughes telling him that he must play Kirkez and wirtz.
So after talks today Salah is in the squad. I can I only think it’s a chance for Salah to say goodbye. It would looked bad for everyone connected with Liverpool football club and what Salah has achieved to just sell him in January without a farewell.
It’s makes slot, FSG and Richard Hughes look the good guys.
A farewell farce for Salah to say goodbye at the end of the game. The guy who won us the league on his own last season. You’ve got to laugh. When are we going to appoint Richard Hughes as assistant manager.