Gary Neville says he expects Mohamed Salah to remain put until the tip of the season after the forward made his return for Liverpool within the side’s 2-0 win over Brighton.
Salah sent shockwaves across the game with a bombshell interview following the Reds’ 3-3 draw with Leeds last weekend, by which he suggested he had been ‘thrown under the bus’ by Arne Slot.
It got here after Slot had decided to call Salah amongst his substitutes for 3 games in succession, with the 33-year-old remaining on the bench for the whole lot of the Premier League contest at Elland Road.
Liverpool and Slot were emphatic with their response to Salah’s explosive remarks, leaving the Egyptian out of their squad that went on to beat Inter Milan within the Champions League on Tuesday night.
It led to serious questions over Salah’s Liverpool future in what’s the superstar attacker’s ninth season on Merseyside.
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Nonetheless, Slot sprung a surprise by recalling Salah for Liverpool’s clash with Brighton on Saturday – and an early Joe Gomez injury meant the previous Chelsea man was introduced after only 26 minutes.
After providing the assist for the second of Hugo Ekitike’s goals on the hour-mark, Salah was seen taking within the applause from the Anfield crowd as he did a lap of the pitch.
What did Salah say? Key quotes from explosive interview
- On being benched again versus Leeds: ‘The third time on the bench, I believe for the primary time in my profession. I’m very, very disenchanted to be fair. I even have done a lot for this club down the years and particularly last season. Now I’m sitting on the bench and I do not know why. It looks like the club has thrown me under the bus. That’s how I’m feeling. I believe it is vitally clear that somebody wanted me to get the entire blame.’
- On his relationship with Arne Slot: ‘I said persistently before that I had a very good relationship with the manager and rapidly, we have no relationship. I do not know why, but it surely seems to me, how I see it, that somebody doesn’t want me within the club.’
- On whether Saturday’s game against Brighton might be his last Liverpool game: ‘In my head, I’ll enjoy that game because I do not know what’s going to occur now. I might be in Anfield to say goodbye to the fans and go the Africa Cup (of Nations). I do not know what’s going to occur after I am there.’
- On whether he regrets signing a brand new contract last season: ‘Imagine how bad that I even have to reply it, truthfully. That hurts, even the query hurts. This club, signing for this club, I won’t ever regret it. I believed I’ll renew here and end my profession here, but this is just not in keeping with the plan.’
- On transfer interest from the Saudi Pro League: ‘I don’t wish to answer this query, since the club goes to take me to a special direction.’
‘Look, I’m not neutral on this within the sense that I’m obviously a Manchester United fan,’ Neville told NBC Sports when asked what the long run holds for Salah following Liverpool’s 2-0 victory.
‘But when I’m talking about it from a Premier League perspective, I believe it was a sensible move yesterday for Liverpool and Arne Slot to get Mohamed Salah on the pitch to diffuse the situation.
‘It was at boiling point after his interview.
‘I’d prefer to think he’s going to go away and so they’re going to come back – or they’ve come – to some type of compromise, that yesterday wasn’t a lap of honour of him leaving, it was more of a case of him going to AFCON after which he can come back and play for Liverpool.
‘Nonetheless, nothing would surprise you.’
The Saudi Pro League has long been mooted as a possible destination for Salah, with Al Ittihad making an unsuccessful £150million bid for the Egypt international back in September.
But Neville has a ‘gut feeling’ that Salah will still be a Liverpool player when the January transfer window closes.
The ex-Manchester United and England right-back added: ‘The one thing that I feel about that is that Arne Slot said he was searching for an apology.
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‘We’ve not heard that he has apologised so is it actually behind them each? Is he behind the manager?
‘Ultimately, if it was our manager [Sir Alex Ferguson] back within the day at Manchester United, he would want some type of apology. Situations like that did occur so possibly he’ll leave.
‘But my gut feeling is that he stays this season at Liverpool.’
Chatting with Sky Sports after Liverpool’s victory, Slot insisted it was an ‘easy decision’ to recall Salah, the third highest goalscorer within the club’s history.
‘What’s been said between the 2 of us, I’ve said persistently, for me that stays between us,’ the Liverpool head coach said.
‘He was back within the squad and we would have liked him.’
On Salah’s performance, the Dutchman added: ‘He was a threat, the primary ball he touched he almost gave an assist to [Alexis] Mac Allister.
‘He was continuously involved, pleasing but in addition not a surprise because he’s done that persistently.’
Liverpool will look to make it three wins on the bounce in all competitions after they return to Premier League motion away to Tottenham next weekend.
Salah won’t be available for the clash, with the three-time PFA Player of the 12 months joining up together with his Egypt team-mates for the Africa Cup of Nations on Monday.
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