Jurgen Klopp insists there were no concerns over in-demand Mohamed Salah‘s focus in putting together his Liverpool lineup vs. Aston Villa.
Salah is part of the side to take Villa at Anfield on Sunday afternoon, with Klopp making three changes as Joe Gomez, Curtis Jones and Darwin Nunez come in.
In truth, few level-headed supporters will have worried about the Egyptian’s inclusion, despite a verbal £150 million bid from Al-Ittihad being rejected on Thursday night.
But with Sky Sports still attempting to whip up the story with five days left of the Saudi transfer window, Klopp was asked about the situation pre-match.
“I didn’t have to, I didn’t have to,” a perplexed Klopp replied, when asked if he had to consider Salah’s focus on the game.
“This was a media story. It never came through.
“I have a big desk in my office, a lot of papers are on that, I have a laptop, iPad, everything that you need: none of them were busy with any of this news.
“I have a lot of things to do and that’s why we never thought about it.
“Mo had a completely normal, good training week. There was nothing, from my point of view, to think about.”
The transfer window closes for Saudi Pro League clubs on September 7, with suggestions in the media that the state-owned Al-Ittihad could return with an improved bid.
For what it’s worth, Salah was been left out of the Egypt squad to play Ethiopia in their Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on September 8.
Egypt are already qualified for the tournament, with the 31-year-old instead joining his national team for their friendly against Tunisia on September 12.
Fan Comments