David Ornstein: Liverpool star set to stay this month | OneFootball

Liverpool future questions resurface as Mo Salah returns

Mohamed Salah’s month away with Egypt offered Liverpool supporters a brief pause from the constant noise surrounding his future. For a player who has shaped an era at Anfield, even silence feels loaded. Before his departure for the Africa Cup of Nations, there was a growing sense that something was shifting, a subtle acknowledgement that time, contracts and ambition rarely wait for sentiment.

Salah himself had fed that mood. His words and body language around the December 13 clash with Brighton felt unusually reflective, as if he was aware of the weight of the moment. Liverpool won 2-1, yet the conversation afterwards focused less on points and more on what it might have meant. For a fanbase conditioned to read between the lines, the questions came naturally.

AFCON absence calms speculation

During Salah’s time away, rumours of an imminent January exit largely faded. That in itself felt revealing. Transfers rarely unfold quietly, particularly when they involve Liverpool’s most iconic forward of the modern era. As his return to Merseyside approaches, the absence of noise has begun to feel reassuring rather than ominous.

Photo: IMAGO

David Ornstein has now added clarity to that calm. Speaking as Salah prepares to rejoin Arne Slot’s squad, Ornstein suggested that Liverpool are not bracing for a mid season rupture. Instead, the expectation is continuity, at least for now. The idea of Salah walking back into the AXA Training Centre as if nothing had happened carries its own symbolism. Familiar routines often signal stability.

Ornstein update offers clarity

“We need to pay attention to Liverpool with the attacking position that Mo Salah occupies,” the journalist said on The Athletic FC podcast.

“We believe that he will be staying despite the recent uncertainty. As far as we know he wants to stay at Liverpool, he loves the club.

“However, if it doesn’t go so well, maybe there is a conversation to be had about a mutual parting of the ways next summer and then, my goodness there’s a big hole to fill, so that’s one to watch as we go towards the summer market.”

Those words frame Salah’s situation as a careful balance rather than a ticking bomb. Liverpool are not scrambling to replace him in January, nor are they ignoring the realities of age, evolution and squad planning.

What comes next for Liverpool and Mo Salah

For Liverpool, Salah remains central to both performance and identity. His numbers still speak loudly, his influence still stretches beyond the right flank. Yet football rarely allows for perfect endings. The conversation has simply shifted, from urgent speculation to measured anticipation.

January now looks like a holding pattern. Summer, though, promises deeper questions. Liverpool know that replacing Mo Salah, whenever that moment arrives, will feel less like a transfer and more like a cultural reset.