Arne Slot Welcomes Mohamed Salah Back from AFCON

Arne Slot has expressed his pleasure at the prospect of Mohamed Salah returning to Liverpool following his participation in the Africa Cup of Nations. He emphasized that the forward remains “extremely important” for the team.

Salah’s national team, Egypt, was eliminated by Senegal in the semifinals on Wednesday. However, the 33-year-old will stay with his team until after the third-place play-off against Nigeria this Saturday in Casablanca.

Last month, Salah sparked controversy with a candid interview in which he claimed that Liverpool had placed him “under the bus” due to the club’s poor performance, and he mentioned a breakdown in his relationship with Slot. This led to his exclusion from Liverpool’s squad for their UEFA Champions League match against Inter Milan. Nevertheless, he made a return in the 2-0 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion before departing for AFCON, with Slot indicating that any issues had since been resolved.

“First and foremost, he has a significant game for Egypt on Saturday and then he will return to us,” said the Liverpool manager.

“I am delighted to have him back. Mo has played a crucial role for both the club and me, so I am looking forward to his return. Even if I had 15 attackers, I would still be pleased to see Mo back, although that is not our current situation. I am happy to welcome him back after an important game tomorrow.”

When asked about Salah’s availability for Liverpool’s upcoming Champions League match against Marseille next Wednesday, Slot replied: “We are currently in discussions with him regarding expectations both for the national team and here at Liverpool. He has a crucial match this Saturday and will then rejoin us. We are in conversation about the Marseille game now.”

Liverpool aims to extend their unbeaten streak to 12 matches across all competitions when they host Burnley in the Premier League at Anfield on Saturday. While Slot’s team has not suffered a defeat since their 4-1 loss to PSV Eindhoven in November, the Dutch manager acknowledged that improvements in performance are still necessary for the team to achieve their goals this season.

“Ideally, we would have 11 wins in a row instead of just being unbeaten for 11 games,” he stated. “That is our aim. Aston Villa managed to secure numerous victories in succession, and while we are in a better place now than we were when we conceded four goals to PSV Eindhoven, there is still ample room for improvement. Even last year, we were at the top of the Premier League and Champions League during this period.”