Mohamed Salah may leave, but the problems surrounding him have not. The Egyptian returned to the Liverpool squad as a reserve against Brighton.
Coach Arne Slot may have tried to close the story after Salah's eye-catching interview at Leeds, but he himself admitted that not everyone can do that. "For me, things are settled down, but if the outside world wants to continue talking, it's okay" - the Liverpool captain shared.
Slot said he had a meeting with Salah. After directly participating in the decision not to register this striker to Italy for the win over Inter Milan in the Champions League, the Dutch strategist brought him back to the squad last weekend.
As Salah leaves for the African Cup, it is likely that negotiations between the Egyptian star's representative and Liverpool will continue next month. And while Slot believes the relationship between players and coaches has been heightened, there are still many unanswered questions.
Has Salah apologized to Liverpool?
Explaining why Salah was not brought to Milan, Slot said: "I think I was often quite calm and polite, but that doesn't mean I was weak."
After Salah came off the bench and assisted Hugo Ekitike to score to make it 2-0 against Brighton, the Dutch strategist admitted that another coach could have chosen a heavier penalty. "He should be banned from playing once, twice, three times, four times, four months or 12 years? Every coach has a different way of making decisions," Slot said.
Slot said the details of the conversation between the two sides will be kept confidential, meaning it is still unclear whether Salah withdrew his controversial statements at Elland Road or apologized. Instead, the Dutch coach affirmed that he would treat Salah like any other player.
"For me, there is no problem that needs to be solved. At the moment, he is like any other player," Slot said. However, the true nature of the deal between the two sides remains a question mark, as it remains unclear whether Salah will still feel pushed into a difficult position.
Is Salah still in Arne Slot's plans?
Salah was the first name called up by Slot from the bench last weekend. His replacement for injured Joe Gomez is not simply a replacement for the position, but an attempt to give the Egyptian striker a chance to speak up.
However, Salah has not started in Liverpool's last 5 matches. He was not in the starting lineup in Milan, only sat on the bench for the remaining 4 matches and was even left out of the squad for the 2 matches. That seems to be the key to Salah's complaints.
The star seems to believe that his contributions and excellent form in the past are enough to ensure him a fixed position. "I don't need to fight every day to keep my position because I have deserved it," Salah said last week.
So is there anything really changing? Slot's initial decision to leave Salah out of the starting lineup for the match against West Ham did not come from the striker's decline in form, but because Liverpool needed to strengthen their defense after conceding 3 goals against Nottingham Forest and 4 goals against PSV Eindhoven. Since then, The Kop have kept a clean sheet in 3 of their last 5 matches.
However, Slot also pointed out that Brighton had created many chances, with most of their 14 shots coming after Salah came on. Maybe next month, Liverpool will find the necessary defensive balance to bring the striker who scored 250 goals to the club back to the starting lineup.
But it is also not ruled out that, when Salah was ready to return, Liverpool played 12 matches without him as a starting player and more importantly, they found their own winning formula.
