Premier League 2025-26: Liverpool boss Slot says he and Salah have moved on from turbulent week

Liverpool boss Arne Slot said there were no lingering issues with Mohamed Salah after the forward’s recent criticism of ‍the club, saying before Saturday’s Premier League showdown at Tottenham Hotspur that the ​pair had “moved on”.

Salah was a key player in the 2-0 ‌win over Brighton & Hove Albion at the weekend, despite ​the turbulent week ahead of the game following the Egyptian’s scathing criticism of the club.

“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.”

Depending on how far Egypt advances at the Africa Cup of Nations, Salah could miss seven games starting with Saturday’s fixture. Slot’s men are seventh on 26 points, 10 behind leader Arsenal. Tottenham is four points behind ​Liverpool in 11th.

The Liverpool manager will be missing Cody Gakpo and Joe Gomez again on Saturday, but the versatile Dominik Szoboszlai, who was forced off with an ankle injury in the closing stages of the Brighton game, could feature.

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“Dominik ‌trained yesterday for the first time. We’ll see where he’s at ‌today,” Slot said. “(Whether he could start against Spurs) completely depends on how well he does today, and then we ‍speak to the player and the medical staff.

“If the player feels comfortable and does all the things he needs to do, then he will ‍start. Dom would be a starter tomorrow if he’s completely fit.”

Forward Gakpo has been sidelined since early December with a muscle injury that Slot initially said would likely keep him out until mid-January.

“He had a scan that looked promising, so we’re not that worried anymore,” Slot said. “He might come back earlier than expected, but definitely not tomorrow.”

Defender Gomez left last weekend’s game early with a hamstring injury.

“Joe is not in the squad as well,” Slot said.

The defending champion had a poor start to the season but is unbeaten in its last five games across ​all competitions and will look to maintain momentum despite missing key players.

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

Published on Dec 19, 2025