Mohamed Salah will reportedly skip Egypt’s international obligations at the end of the campaign, but it is still undecided if that will be to Liverpool’s benefit for next season.
The ridiculous nature of the football calendar means players will be called up to represent their country a week on from the conclusion of their club season (June 2-10).
Two fixtures or a training camp await most and all eyes will be on how international managers approach the task at hand, whether they afford regular starters a break or ask even more of them.
Salah is set to be handled with care, with Arabic reporter Ismael Mahmoud claiming on X that the 32-year-old will miss Egypt’s training camp in June to extend his time off after Liverpool’s 56-game season.
Liverpool’s No. 11 has played the second-most minutes of any player under Arne Slot this season, accumulating 3,876 minutes to sit behind only Virgil van Dijk (3,897).
With no further summer obligations until pre-season, if the news is accurate it will be an invaluable time for Salah, but it remains to be seen if it will be of service to Liverpool as a new contract has yet to be signed.
If he did extend, he would be looking at a break of up to six weeks, with Slot’s side likely to report back for pre-season in early July ahead of the new Premier League season on August 16.
Man City‘s Omar Marmoush is also to miss out to be ready for the Club World Cup later in the summer, which Saudi Arabia side Al-Hilal will hope to lure Salah for after a number of recent links.
Growing sense of optimism
There is growing optimism, however, that the 32-year-old will extend his contract at Anfield.
In his latest update for NBC Sports Soccer, reliable source David Ornstein described new deals as a matter of “when rather than if” for both Van Dijk and Salah.
“Liverpool have been confident throughout that they will retain [Salah’s] services and, like I said with Van Dijk, it’s more a case of when rather than if that is going to happen now,” Ornstein said.
The hope is that new deals can be signed without any further delay as the season has gone on long enough with supporters left in the dark over the futures of Salah, Van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
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