Arne Slot’s rift with Mohamed Salah is continuing into the final weeks of the season – Journalist | OneFootball

Arne Slot and Mohamed Salah Tension Adds to Liverpool’s Anfield Uncertainty

On Media Matters for Anfield Index, Dave Davis and Lewis Steele moved from Liverpool’s poor form into one of the season’s most delicate issues, the strained relationship between Arne Slot and Mohamed Salah.

That tension now carries even more weight because Salah is leaving the club this summer for free, despite having one year remaining on his deal at Anfield. For a player of his status, and for a club built around elite recruitment and asset protection, it is a significant moment.

Relationship under strain

Steele was clear that something appeared unresolved behind the scenes. Speaking to Davis, he said Slot was “the most agitated I’ve seen him for a while” in the embargoed press conference.

He added: “There’s something that he wants to say that he feels that he will get completely hounded for if he says it.”

When discussing what might be troubling Slot, Steele said: “I think reading between the lines and it’s only a guess, it’s to do with Salah.”

That relationship has been under scrutiny for months, especially after Salah was dropped for three consecutive games back in November. Steele’s view was stark: “I do think that it goes back to the Salah relationship that’s clearly broken down.”

Standards comments point towards Salah

Davis raised Slot’s remarks about standards, including the line that standards are “not only important in the gym, it’s also on the pitch.” Steele interpreted that as “a bit of an indirect dig at Salah.”

He added: “Maybe he’s referring to the fact that Salah doesn’t do the defensive work.”

Steele also made the key tactical point around the trade off Liverpool accepted last season. He said Salah would do “a limited job defensively, but in return, he’ll score you 20 or 30 goals a season.”

For Liverpool, that calculation has defined much of the Salah era. Goals, presence, output and pressure. If Slot no longer feels that balance works, it helps explain why the relationship may have deteriorated.

Photo: IMAGO

Final Anfield chapter approaches

Salah is expected to return to the squad to face Aston Villa on Friday night, before what is set to be his final Liverpool outing against Brentford at Anfield on the final day of the season.

Steele was blunt about what comes next. Even if Slot is “not too bothered about seeing him go,” Liverpool are “going to miss him an awful lot.”