The Salah Slot Sage has reached a peace deal. But how long will it actually last? After explosive public outbursts and a week of tension that threatened to tear the club apart, Mohamed Salah has been included in Liverpool’s squad for Saturday’s Premier League clash against Brighton following Friday conversations with manager Arne Slot. Yet behind the scenes, the situation remains far from resolved, with the Africa Cup of Nations departure and the January transfer window looming as potential flashpoints that could reignite the crisis.
A strategic pause rather than a genuine resolution?
Salah has not started any of Liverpool’s last four matches, and after being an unused substitute against Leeds, he publicly declared he had been “thrown under the bus” by the club and accused Slot of allowing their relationship to become “non-existent.” MaltaSport covered this story in detail and can be read by clicking here.
The situation escalated, since that article, when Salah was dropped from the travelling squad for Tuesday’s 1-0 victory at Inter Milan. That same day, he posted a photograph on Instagram showing himself training alone in the gym. A pointed message about his exclusion? The decision to omit him from the Champions League fixture was made jointly by Slot and the club, signalling a united front against the forward’s public criticism.
Yet Friday’s conversations between Salah and Slot have resulted in his inclusion for Saturday’s Brighton match, a move that suggests both parties are willing to find middle ground, well at least temporarily. When asked whether Salah had played his final game for Liverpool, Slot was diplomatic but revealing;
“I will have a conversation with Mo this morning. The outcome of that conversation determines how it will look tomorrow.”
The manager emphasised that future discussions about Salah should be held privately, not through the media. “The next time I speak about Mo should be with him and not in here,” Slot said. “We’ve spoken a lot in the last week, after the Sunderland game, there have been a lot of conversations between his representatives and ours, between him and me. And today [Friday] I will speak with him again.”
Crucially, when asked directly if he wanted Salah to stay, Slot replied:
“I have no reasons not to want him to stay. This club has won a lot of games with him.”
This statement is significant: It suggests Slot is prioritising the team’s interests over his own authority, a key factor in the saga.
However, it appears destined to be short-lived. Saturday’s match against Brighton is Salah’s final opportunity to play for Liverpool before departing for the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt. The timing is critical: the break will provide key stakeholders at the club mainly the senior executives, representatives, and Slot himself, with crucial time to address the underlying issues.
As one analyst noted: “I think we’ve got a peace deal, but I’m not sure how long this peace deal is going to last. It could be something that is very short-term. My understanding is that Arne Slot’s made this decision because he’s putting the team and the club first.”
The reasoning behind this assessment is clear: if Slot were simply protecting his authority, he would likely have kept Salah out of the squad entirely. Instead, by recalling him for Brighton, Slot is demonstrating that he’s prioritising Liverpool’s competitive interests over his managerial ego, a pragmatic approach that suggests a tactical rather than transformative move.
The real test: What happens after the Africa Cup of Nations?
The true examination is when Salah returns from international duty. The Africa Cup of Nations provides a natural break and a window where discussions can happen away from the intensity of club’s weekly matches and media scrutiny. During this period, Liverpool’s senior executives will have the opportunity to meet with Salah’s representatives and address the core issues that sparked the crisis.
Yet this break also introduces uncertainty. Will the time apart cool tensions, or will it allow resentment to fester? Could either evolve into a genuine reconciliation or collapse entirely when Salah returns?
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