Arne Slot says he will be happy to have Mohamed Salah back – hinting that the rift between the head coach and star player is fully behind them.
Salah and his Egyptian colleagues were left heartbroken on Wednesday as Sadio Mane, a former team-mate of the forward, scored to send Senegal to the Africa Cup of Nations final at the Pharaohs’ expense.
But despite the disappointment in Morocco, Salah has found his goalscoring form again with four goals and an assist at the tournament. And Slot says he is excited for the main man to return.
‘First of all, he needs to play another big game for Egypt on Saturday (a third-place play-off against Nigeria) and then he comes back to us,’ said the Reds boss.
‘I am happy that he comes back. Mo has been so important for this club, for me, so I am happy that he is back.
‘Even if I had 15 attackers I still would have been happy if he came back but that is not our current situation.’
Mo Salah’s Egypt were knocked out at the semi-final stage of AFCON but he will stay to play the third-place playoff game against Nigeria before returning to Liverpool
It comes after Slot and Salah had a feud after the forward said the pair had ‘no relationship’ in an explosive interview following a spell on the substitutes’ bench in December.
It is unsure which game Salah will return in but the 33-year-old is in talks with Slot over whether he is back for the Champions League trip to Marseille on Wednesday, or the league match at Bournemouth the following Saturday.
After a gruelling camp just outside Agadir, Salah might need a few days off before returning to Liverpool duty – though he is arguably needed now due to the injury crisis that sees striker Alexander Isak, and several defenders, out for significant periods.
Asked if the long-term injury to right back Conor Bradley would force a January transfer window rethink, Slot added: ‘I think everyone is aligned about the challenges we are facing.
‘That’s not to say that we are going to act, but we are aligned on what we are facing. There is no-one who has a different opinion on it. That’s not to say that anything is going to happen.’
