Egypt U23 coach Shawky Gharib wants Liverpool star Mohamed Salah to take part in the Olympics Games to be held in Tokyo in 2020.
Every country is allowed three players over the age of 23 in their final selection, and Gharib has stated his first choice will be Salah.
However, the coach may have to convince Reds boss Jurgen Klopp to allow one of his best players time off from pre-season, and in turn the start of the season.
Also, with Liverpool likely to be involved in so many games this term, depriving a key player of the European champions of ample rest in the off season might put Klopp’s side off.
"Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp said in a press conference last week that no one from Egypt had talked to the club about calling up Mohamed Salah to participate at the 2020 Summer Olympics," Gharib told the On Sport Channel in Egypt [via BBC Sport].
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"Well I am here to tell him that Mohamed Salah is my number one choice, I will need him to be with us in Tokyo.
"Maybe I call one or two [overage] players, I still need to think about that but if Liverpool refused to send Salah - I would not try and call someone else instead."
Egypt qualified for the men’s football tournament at the Games having won the U23 Africa Cup of Nations on home soil.
The men's football at the tournament begins on July 24 and ends on August 9.
