Arne Slot has confirmed he will hold face-to-face talks with Mohamed Salah this morning and insists he has no reason to believe the forward wants to leave Liverpool.
Salah was left out of the 19-man squad that travelled to Italy on Monday for Tuesday night’s Champions League clash with Inter Milan, following explosive comments he made in the mixed zone after the 3-3 draw at Leeds United.
The Egyptian claimed he was “being thrown under the bus” by the club and suggested his relationship with Slot had completely broken down after being left on the bench for the second time in three games.
Salah also hinted that Saturday’s visit of Brighton & Hove Albion could be his final appearance for Liverpool. The 33-year-old has won every major honour during his time at Anfield and is the third-highest goalscorer in the club’s history with 250 goals.
After the Brighton game, Salah will join up with the Egypt national team ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. He is not expected to return to Merseyside until January, by which time the winter transfer window will have reopened.
Slot said at his press conference this morning: “I will have a conversation with him this morning and the outcome of that conversation will determine how it looks tomorrow.
“What I need is a conversation with him and the next time I speak about Mo should be with him and not in here. There’s not much more I can say. I speak to him today and the outcome determines how things will look tomorrow.
“You can try (the question) in multiple ways but I just said the next time I speak about him should be with him. I think there’s been a lot of conversations since the last week between his representatives and ours.
“An apology? Normally I’d say you’ve had your three questions!”
Slot added: “Who made the call (to leave Salah out of squad for Inter)? I think we decided as a club and I was part of that not to take him to Inter. I am always in contact with them with line up and squads, that is always left to me. I talk to Richard Hughes more than Michael Edwards, we speak about many things.
“Do I want him to stay? Another way of asking but the next time I speak about Mo will be with him. I have no reasons not to want him to stay.”
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