Everything Slot had to say on Salah’s future in pre-Brighton press conference

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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