Mohamed Salah set for showdown talks with Egypt as Liverpool face losing talisman for 10 games due to AFCON

Salah's upcoming meeting carries significant weight, as the two parties look to finalise the player's release date for the tournament in Morocco which runs from December 21st to January 18th. The talks follow the Egyptian King’s controversial early departure from the last tournament due to injury, which caused frustration among Egyptian fans. The forward, who is just six goals shy of Hassan's own national team scoring record, could miss crucial games for Liverpool. If Egypt, one of the tournament favourites, reach the final on January 18, Salah could be unavailable for up to ten matches, including Tottenham (a), Wolves (h), Leeds (h), Fulham (a), Arsenal (a) and Burnley (h) plus a Champions League game at Marseille and an FA Cup third round tie. These negotiations aim to prevent a repeat of past tensions and find a resolution that works for both the club and country.

Salah has struggled at times this season, seemingly struggling in a new playing system and a number of key new players in attacking positions at Anfield. But boss Slot was clear in explaining why Salah remains so important to his team after reaching the incredible milestone of 250 goals for the Merseysiders.

Slot said: "It is huge. It's almost unbelievable he has scored 250 goals at one club. Scoring 250 goals is already unbelievable, let alone at one club. You don’t see it that much in football anymore. Apart from the goal he scored tonight he had a very good performance. When we had to play long we played mainly long towards him and he could hold the ball and because of that the rest of the team could come to him and we could keep playing.

Slot added: "What I also liked is that he didn’t only do his offensive work really well, but he helped the team out defensively as well. After the 1-0 he was helping Virgil (van Dijk) around the halfway line and this combination of things led to me liking his performance tonight. It’s special for him to score 250 but for him to score is not special as we always know he will score."

City boss Pep Guardiola isn't worried about losing Omar Marmoush and Rayan Ait-Nouri for an extended period of time. Marmoush only returned to the starting XI following injury in the recent 3-1 win over Swansea, a game the 26-year-old scored in. Asked about the scheduling of the tournament, Guardiola said: "This competition (is) for their countries so they have to go. Always I try to solve the problem when the problem is in front of me. Right now I don’t think (about it). I have to use them for Sunday and next Wednesday and next Sunday before the international break. When it is going to happen they cannot be here and we will see the situation and take the decisions."

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