Why Salah, Slot have not ‘moved on’ as Liverpool manager’s latest claim hides ‘major sticking point’ | OneFootball

It is currently easy for Liverpool head coach Arne Slot to hide the truth regarding Mohamed Salah, with his “moved on” claim clearly false…

Slot‘s job at Liverpool was tough before the Salah saga, but this situation has made matters even more complicated.

The Dutchman has got plenty wrong this season as he’s added to Liverpool’s growing list of issues, but his bold call to take Salah out of the starting XI was one of his better decisions.

Salah was untouchable as the best player in the Premier League last season, but it has been an entirely different story this term as the experienced forward.

The 33-year-old was ineffective in most of his appearances before his withdrawal as it very much appears as if father time has caught up with him, while Liverpool’s results and performances have improved while he was on the sidelines.

As we all know, Salah, like Cristiano Ronaldo, did not take too kindly to being omitted, remarkably hitting out at Slot and the club during a rare but calculated outburst in the mixed zone.

Salah was deservedly punished for his antics before returning to the squad for last weekend’s match versus Brighton, which was his last before heading to the African Cup of Nations.

His comeback followed peace talks with Slot, who wants everyone to think that he and Salah are back on good terms after he impressed from the bench against Brighton.

“I said last week, actions speak louder than words,” Slot told reporters on Friday.

“We moved on, he was in the squad and was the first substitution I made. Now he’s got Afcon and will play some big games so it’s only fair that all focus is on them.”

But it is hard to believe that they have “moved on”, with this being an easy statement to make while Salah is away at the AFCON and unlikely to be exposed by the player himself for at least a few weeks.

Slot’s claims do appear to be far from the truth, with an insider on X with a ‘team of five elite reporters’ joining a host of other journalists in claiming that the ‘standoff continues’ due to a ‘major sticking point’.

‘Peace talks between Mohamed Salah’s representatives and Liverpool officials will enter a second week starting Monday,’ they said on X.

‘The standoff over reaching an agreement continues. Arne Slot cannot guarantee a starting role for Salah, creating a major sticking point in the negotiations.’

Slot and Salah may have “moved on” for a matter of weeks, but issues will inevitably resurface once the player is back from the AFCON as a parting of ways in January or next summer looks increasingly inevitable.

It is evident from Slot’s recent selections that he is starting to move past Salah and if you read between the lines of this next quote, it seems the head coach himself has indicated that the forward is more likely to exit from stay next year.

“We are getting closer to the team I want us to be,” Slot added.

“That has gone with ups and downs. For me, that makes complete sense because of the changes we made in the summer and we made them on purpose because we thought we needed them.

“You have to adapt, so it takes time. We have been very unlucky with refereeing decisions. Even on Saturday, we missed out on a red card, but it didn’t hurt us.

“We deserved the wins in the start, but still, it’s small margins. We have to make sure this team gets to a level where refereeing decisions don’t influence this team.”