Romano shares what he heard from ‘sources close to Liverpool’ on ‘good meeting’ between Salah and Slot
Fabrizio Romano has revealed what he heard from ‘sources close to Liverpool’ on a ‘positive’ discussion between Mo Salah and Arne Slot on Friday.
The Egyptian winger was omitted from the Reds’ squad for their midweek Champions League win against Inter Milan after his explosive outburst last weekend, but the head coach told reporters on Friday morning that he planned to speak with the player with a view to recalling him for today’s match against Brighton.
He was as good as his word, with the news emerging yesterday evening that our number 11 will return to the squad for the Seagulls clash.
Romano expands on ‘positive’ discussions between Salah and Slot
Late on Friday night, Romano posted a broader update on his eponymous YouTube channel in which he touched upon the discussions which took place between Salah and Slot.
He outlined: “Around 6pm [we heard] the outcome of that face-to-face meeting between Arne Slot and Mo Salah after training. Sources close to the situation describe that as a good meeting between the parties. It was good in terms of the face-to-face discussion they had.
“At the same time, from sources close to Liverpool, the message is: ‘OK, there is still work to do before saying everything is OK between Mo Salah and the club and the coach and Liverpool in general’.
“There is still some work to do, but the conversation was seen as positive. This is why Mo Salah is included in the matchday squad for Liverpool to face Brighton this weekend at Anfield.”
Will Salah start against Brighton this afternoon?
As James Pearce opined, Salah’s return to the matchday squad today is a ‘welcome’ development for Liverpool, but it certainly doesn’t mean that the discussion over his future has been put to bed once and for all.
Even if the winger is part of Slot’s plans against Brighton, we won’t know until 75 minutes before kick-off whether he’ll go straight back into the starting line-up or – for the fourth Premier League game in a row – have to be content with a place among the substitutes.
The jury also remains out as to whether the conversation on Friday is simply a temporary truce before the 33-year-old leaves for the Africa Cup of Nations, or the first big step towards a proper reconciliation which could see the events of the past week be consigned to mere history.
What we can say with conviction is that, despite Salah being well below his usual world-class standards this season, Liverpool could absolutely do with having a player of his talents to call upon for what’ll be a fiendishly tough game against the Seagulls.
He netted the winner in this fixture last term, when the Reds came from behind to triumph 2-1. If he repeats the feat today, it’d be the perfect note on which to depart for AFCON and suggest to the naysayers that his Anfield story is far from over.
You can watch Slot’s full pre-Brighton press conference below, via Empire of the Kop on YouTube:
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