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Liverpool has been told that it can't afford to allow Mohamed Salah to leave during the January transfer window unless a replacement has been lined up.
The chances of Salah leaving next month seem far lower than they did a week ago, after he returned to the fold as a substitute during Liverpool's win over Brighton on Saturday.
Seven days earlier it seemed as though Salah might have played his last game for Liverpool after stopping for an ill-advised chat with journalists in the Elland Road mixed zone. However, after being left out of the traveling squad for the midweek win over Inter Milan in the Champions League, he was back in the squad against Brighton.
An early injury to Joe Gomez saw him called upon in the first half, and he went on to register an assist for Hugo Ekitike's second goal of the game.
Despite Salah producing a bright performance against Brighton, the topic of a possible exit in January was still discussed on ESPN FC after the game.
During that discussion, Liverpool legend Steve Nicol said that the Reds should only entertain the prospect of Salah leaving if the possibility of signing Antoine Semenyo from Bournemouth arises in January.
“The only thing now would be that they have to have somebody lined up for January,” Nicol said. “I’d have Semenyo from Bournemouth, but it’s going to be hard to get him out in January.
“If they can’t do that, then can you really let him go? The difference down the right-hand side when he came on to what we had seen, we were looking at Joe Gomez and there was nothing else, zero.
“So unless they are bringing someone like Semenyo in, then they can’t let him go.”
Salah was serenaded by Liverpool's supporters following the final whistle against Brighton, and he stayed out on the field for longer than any of his teammates as he applauded the thousands of supporters who had stayed behind at Anfield to sing his name.
Salah will now jet off to link up with his Egypt teammates ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, which will see him miss the remainder of Liverpool's games in 2025.
Considering Salah's jovial mood after the game, it seems likely that he will return to the Liverpool squad for the second half of the season rather than seek an exit after the continental tournament – there was certainly no sense that he was waving good bye to Liverpool's fans for good after the final whistle.
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