Liverpool prepare for 'face-to-face showdown' with Mohamed Salah's agent during AFCON with summer exit to Saudi Arabia on the cards

Salah was subsequently dropped from the Liverpool squad for their Champions League meeting with Inter Milan, a match they won 1-0 courtesy of Dominik Szoboszlai's late penalty. The 33-year-old, however, returned to the Reds squad for the 2-0 victory over Brighton after apologising for his comments following the Elland Road stalemate, and he featured from the bench to provide the assist for Hugo Ekitike's second goal.

After the win over Brighton, Reds boss Arne Slot insisted that all parties had 'moved on' from the incident at Leeds. "I said last week, actions speak louder than words," Slot said. "We moved on. He was in the squad and was the first substitution I made. Now he's got AFCON and will play some big games so it's only fair that all focus is on them [Egypt]."

The win was Salah's final appearance for Liverpool before linking up with the Egypt national team for the Africa Cup of Nations. The cameo was tipped by many to be the former Roma man's last outing for the Merseyside powerhouse with a January exit previously on the cards.

However, with Alexander Isak now ruled out for the foreseeable future, Salah is expected to remain at Anfield until the end of the season, though Liverpool could be without one of their star performers until mid-January should Egypt, as some expect, go the distance in Morocco.

Salah was again the hero for Egypt in their matchday one victory over Zimbabwe, scoring the winner, as the Pharaohs came from behind to claim a late 2-1 win. And with Salah focussed on matters on the pitch, Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes is expected to handle matters off the field.

The Daily Mail reports that Hughes is set for face-to-face showdown talks with Salah's agent, Ramy Abbas, while Salah is on international duty with Egypt. Salah has been heavily linked with a move to the Saudi Pro League in 2026, either in January or the summer.

And Saudi Pro League chief executive, Omar Mugharbel, confirmed at the World Football Summit earlier this month that a number of Saudi sides are interested in the Reds forward. "Mohamed Salah is welcome in the Saudi League, but it is the clubs that are responsible for negotiating with players. For sure Salah is one of them [a target]," Mugharbel said.

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The expectation now, though, is that Salah remains at Liverpool until the end of the season after the Reds confirmed that Isak had suffered a fractured ankle in Saturday's 2-1 win at Tottenham. Isak, who replaced Conor Bradley at the interval at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, managed to fire past Guglielmo Vicario 10 minutes after the break to score just his second league goal since his big money arrival from Newcastle on deadline day back in September.

However, as Spurs defender Micky van de Ven attempted to block the shot, Isak's standing leg became twisted and after receiving treatment, the Swede was helped off the pitch by the club's medical staff. Reds boss Slot criticised the 'reckless' tackle by Van de Ven that saw Isak undergo surgery earlier this week.

"It’s going to be a long injury, for a couple of months. It’s a big disappointment for him and, as a result, for us," Slot said.

"This was, for me, a reckless challenge. I’ve said a lot about the tackle of Xavi Simons [who was sent off dragging his studs down the calf of Virgil van Dijk] which for me was completely unintentional.

"I don’t think you will ever get an injury out of a tackle like that. But the tackle of Van de Ven, if you make a tackle like that 10 times, 10 times there is a serious chance the player gets a serious injury."

Following surgery, Isak took to social media to thank fans for their well wishes, posting on Instagram: "Gutted to be out for a while. Time to recover and support from the sideline. I will work hard to be back as soon as I possibly can. Thank you all reds and everyone else for the kind messages, it does not go unnoticed."

Liverpool's 2-1 win at Tottenham extended their unbeaten run to six matches, while the Reds have now won their last three in all competitions. And Slot's side should be confident about extending that streak when they host basement side Wolves this weekend.