Liverpool’s Slot Assesses Team Progress Amidst Salah’s Absence. Liverpool, England — Liverpool manager Arne Slot has indicated that the club has “moved on “from the controversy surrounding Mohamed Salah’s recent benching, as the Egyptian star is currently away competing at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
The Reds are set to continue their Premier League campaign without Salah, facing Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.
Slot has seen his team endure a challenging spell, marked by a run of nine defeats in 12 games.
However, the Dutch manager has managed to steady the ship with a recent five — game unbeaten streak, during which Salah was not featured in a starting role. “Actions speak louder than words.
We moved on, “Slot told reporters on Friday, referencing his decision to introduce Salah as a substitute in the 2-0 victory over Brighton.
Salah’s frustration reached a peak after a 3-3 draw with Leeds United, where he was benched for the third consecutive game.
The Egyptian forward claimed he had been “thrown under the bus “for Liverpool’s struggles this season.
Despite his absence, Salah has since been linked with a move to the Saudi Pro League, though such interest has not been confirmed. With Salah representing Egypt at AFCON, Slot has shifted focus to the present. “
Now he’s at the AFCON playing big games for himself and the country, “Slot continued. “.
All the focus for him is over there and there should not be any distraction of me saying anything because we moved on after the Leeds interview and he played against Brighton.”Liverpool currently sits seventh in the Premier League, and a win against Tottenham could see them climb into the top four.
The English champions have undergone a significant transformation this summer, spending nearly 450 million pounds ($602m) on new signings including Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong, and Milos Kerkez.
While Ekitike has impressed, the majority of the new additions have struggled to adapt. Slot admitted to being overly optimistic about the integration of the new players. “
I think we are getting closer and closer to the team I want us to be and that has gone with ups and downs, “said the Dutchman. “.
But for me, that makes complete sense because all the changes we’ve made during the summer, and we made them on purpose because we thought we needed to.”Joe Gomez and Cody Gakpo will be unavailable for the Tottenham match due to injury, but Slot is hopeful that Dominik Szoboszlai will be fit to start.
Frimpong returns to the squad after a two — month absence.
