Slot names the TWO things Mo Salah must do for Liverpool return as pundit grills boss with red-hot question | OneFootball

Arne Slot was given an uncomfortable grilling by Amazon Prime pundit Clarence Seedorf over the potential return to the Liverpool set-up of Mohamed Salah, forcing him to admit two things that must happen for his reintegration, though with our sources revealing the star’s true intentions over his future.

Liverpool managed to claim a morale-boosting win on Tuesday evening as they recorded a 1-0 win at Inter Milan thanks to a late and somewhat controversial Dominik Szoboszlai penalty that got their Champions League campaign back on track.

And while the victory will have also eased the pressure that had been building on Slot’s shoulders in the wake of a woeful run of form, it did not stop the Dutchman from facing further heat over the absence of Salah.

Salah, of course, had been removed from the travelling Liverpool squad after an unprecedented attack on his manager, claiming he had been thrown under the bus and having expressed his anger at his recent three-match benching.

Slot was, understandably, eager to talk up the win and his players on duty when facing broadcaster Amazon Prime after the final whistle.

However, his countryman Seedorf was not letting him get away that lightly and nailed the burning question all Liverpool fans want to know: “Will you bring him back?”

In response to the question, Slot responded: “I think tonight it should be all about what we’ve done here, in a stadium like this, against Inter, winning, all the focus should be on that tonight.

“I can fully understand if I go into the press conference again on Friday and all the questions will be about Mo, but I think these players deserve now that we speak about them.”

Seedorf, though, with the bit between his teeth, refused to let up and replied: “I don’t exactly agree on that.

“We obviously have great respect for you and Mo Salah, we don’t want to be polemic, but it is also a need to understand because there are a lot of assumptions made by us as well.

“Do you have the intention to bring him back? It is our view, I would love to see that happen, because everybody makes mistakes in life. Things happen, and you always have the spirit.”

That forced Slot into a rethink, with the Liverpool manager then opening up on what needs to happen for Salah to return.

“OK, you say everyone makes mistakes in life, so the first thing should be: does the player think he’s made a mistake as well?” Slot replied.

Seedorf responded: “How are you going to know if you don’t talk with him?”

Slot bit back: “I haven’t said that I’m not going to talk to him, I just said the focus should be on the players.

“The next question is: should the initiative come from me or from me? That’s another question to answer.

“But as I said, the focus for tonight should be [on these players].”

Seedorf then replied: “I believe that the team, the club and the coach, when a player is hurt for whatever reason – right, wrong or whatever – should make the first step and open the door for him to then see what is happening.

“This was my comment.”

Slot then shut him down, with his next reply: “OK, that’s your opinion!”

Exclusive: Salah wants contract torn up; €100m Liverpool replacement eyed

Slot, of course, now has a major decision to make ahead of Saturday’s clash with Brighton.

While his removal from the squad on Tuesday was never made clear how long it would last for, there remains a chance that he could earn a recall for the Brighton game on Saturday – his last before he departs for African Cup of Nations duty.

Whether the Egyptian will return to the squad remains to be seen, though with an early departure for the Morocco-staged tournament not ruled out, it would not come as a surprise were his exclusion to stay in place.

In the meantime, sources close to his camp have told TEAMtalk that the Egyptian legend does not feel he has a future at Anfield.

We are told that Salah is insistent that this is not about money and that he is very much open to leaving Liverpool if an agreement can be reached.

At this point, however, it needs to be stressed that there has been no suggestion that Liverpool as a club would indeed be ready sanction his exit in January.

The ultra-reliable David Ornstein has also confirmed that, as things stand, Liverpool have NO PLANS to sell Salah and, despite everything that was said on Saturday and the storm that has since erupted,  the club still want him to stay.

At the same time, sporting director Richard Hughes does have a very big eye on the club’s future and a potential succession plan for Salah.

With that in mind, Liverpool are pushing to sign one of the most exciting young attackers in the world after entering negotiations with the representatives of a 19-year-old sensation, sources have confirmed.