Curtis Jones reveals how Liverpool squad feel about Mohamed Salah's Anfield future and lifts lid on how Egyptian star has helped him through 'hardest times'

The 33-year-old, who penned a two-year contract extension earlier in the year, has potentially played his final game for Liverpool. Salah came off the bench to register the assist for Hugo Ekitike's second in the Reds' 2-0 win over Brighton Saturday afternoon.

Salah will now link up with the Egypt national team ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations, which kicks off in Morocco later this month. The Pharaohs are one of the pre-tournament favourites, meaning the Liverpool forward could miss six games should Egypt go the distance at the tournament and the Premier League champions opt against selling the former Roma man next month, but he is being strongly linked with a winter move to the Saudi Pro League.

Virgil van Dijk has revealed that he has told his team-mate that he wants him to stay at the club, while midfielder Jones has downplayed Salah's comments and insists that the Liverpool players "all love Mo".

Speaking after Liverpool's 2-0 win over Brighton on Saturday, Jones told Viaplay: "We all love Mo. I love Mo. At my hardest times at the club, you know, he was always one of the ones who was there. I could always speak to (him). And it's exactly the same now.

"Mo's his own man, he's got his own opinions. And, you know, I don't think his intentions were to affect the team or anything like that. It was just a personal thing. And as everybody knows, the team, the fans, the staff, we all love Mo. He's a great guy.

"I don't really like to speak on another man's issues or his business and stuff - that has to do with Mo. But at the end of the day, I think the important thing that Mo made clear was that it's not against the team or anything like that, just a personal issue, and that's it."

Jones' quotes echo what Van Dijk said of Salah over the weekend. The Liverpool captain has revealed that he has spoken to Salah, stating: "Of course I speak to him. I speak about everything with him. Of course I've told him I want him to stay. The rest I'm not going to tell you.

"I wish him all the best and come back hopefully. I have no control over that. He is one of the leaders. I would love to have him around because he is one of the leaders. But obviously the fact is he is going to AFCON. I wish him absolutely all the best. We will be in contact over the next days and weeks, we always are. And then let's see."

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Jones started the 2-0 win over Brighton on Saturday to bring up his 200th Liverpool appearance, becoming the youngest Reds player to reach that mark since Steven Gerrard in 2003. Gerrard coached Jones at both U18 and U19 level, and the current Liverpool star has revealed that rough treatment from a club icon helped guide him.

"Not a bad person to follow, is it? Steven has obviously been a huge part of my career and life," Jones told LFC TV. "And I say life because he was probably the first man to really have a pop at me at the academy! And that changed me to think I'm not better than anybody else or anything like that. It was a reality check in terms of how I played and the role that he gave me.

"Steven would be the first to say that once I overcame a thing where I'd complicate things and I thought I was the man because I had the 10 on my back and all things like that, that I'd be the first man that he'd pick on his team.

"I'd always been a kid who was top of the age group and all things like that. At times you can become a little bit passive, I'd say. And Steven was the first one to give me a real, real check. Coming from a man like him, a man who has played the game, a man who I idolised, I've got to change if it's him who is telling me."

Jones continued: "From there, he stuck with me and I stuck with him and we worked. A year after I'm around the first team and now I'm stood here on 200 games so he's obviously a man who I would like to thank.

"It's mad. I actually had a chat with Trey [Nyoni] and Rio [Ngumoha] was there as well. I just said, 'Boys, I know you will hear it all the time from staff and family around you, about how fast it goes. But my God, it goes so fast'. If I think about my first game, Wolves away, and how fast the whole thing has changed.

"I can only thank the staff around me and the team-mates around me who have always got the belief in me to keep me at the club and when I play, to trust that I can play in that many games."

Liverpool's 2-0 win over Brighton marked the first time the Reds have won back-to-back matches in over a month, and just the second time they have achieved the feat since September to ease pressure on head coach Arne Slot.

The defending champions have a week now to prepare for their trip to Tottenham next weekend.