Slot gets latest Salah decision right as Brighton benching suits everyone after ‘brutal truth bomb’ | OneFootball

Mohamed Salah is on the bench for Liverpool’s game against Brighton, with this role suited to everyone involved during this “very short-term” peace deal…

Since it emerged that Salah is back in Liverpool’s squad for Saturday’s match against Brighton, the next question was whether he would be named in the starting XI or on the bench.

His latest benching was the only decision for Slot to make and this was confirmed over an hour before kick-off at Anfield, with Slot instead opting for Hugo Ekitike, Dominik Szoboszlai and Florian Wirtz as Liverpool‘s starting forwards.

It was somewhat surprising to hear that Salah is back on the bench so soon after his remarkable outburst against Liverpool and Slot last week, but his return reportedly follows extensive talks involving key figures at the club.

It is evident that some sort of “peace deal” has been struck to allow Salah to feature against Brighton, with this game acting as his farewell before the African Cup of Nations and potentially before an exit in January.

Several outlets have been keen to insist that Salah’s return on Saturday is not an indication that a “resolution” has been reached. Instead, Sky Sports reporter Kaveh Solhekol has explained why his comeback could only be “very short-term”.

Solhekol said: “My understanding is that Arne Slot’s made this decision because he’s putting the team and the club first.

“The reason why I say I’m not sure whether this is a long-term peace deal is because after Saturday’s game, Salah will be flying off to play for Egypt in the Africa Cup of Nations.

“My feeling is that the break will give the key people involved more time to try and tackle the situation, to come to a resolution. So I don’t think Saturday is the resolution, but I think it’s an important step.”

An insider on X has claimed that the Reds hierarchy were particularly keen for Salah to return against Brighton because it would ensure that his ‘massive transfer valuation’ would not ‘crash’ ahead of the January window.

The same outlet says Slot ‘dropped a brutal truth bomb’ to Salah during talks this week, with the head coach insisting that there are ‘no guarantees of him starting anymore’ and this has been backed up by the forward starting on the bench against Brighton.

Salah’s latest benching makes sense and it actually suits all parties.

Firstly, it allows Salah to have the farewell that he craved before the AFCON, regardless of whether he gets minutes.

For Slot, it solidifies his strong position as it very much looks as if he is the winner of this saga. Also, it makes sense to continue with Szoboszlai on the right, at least to start with, as Liverpool have been far more solid in Salah’s absence and have had better results because of it.

And for FSG, Salah’s return strengthens their negotiating power when/if clubs come calling for Salah, with his speedy comeback making it seem that they are less desperate to offload him than they were a couple of days ago.