Man City offers Mohamed Salah hint as Arne Slot confirms Liverpool talks

Mohamed Salah is due to return to Liverpool this week, with Arne Slot having confirmed he'll be in talks with the winger ahead of what could be his first game back against Marseille

Mohamed Salah is due to return to Liverpool this week following AFCON(Image: Getty Images)

All eyes will be on Mohamed Salah this week as the winger makes his return to Liverpool, with doubts still hanging over his future at Anfield.

The Africa Cup of Nations came to a dramatic end on Sunday, with Sadio Mane’s Senegal triumphing over hosts Morocco in a controversial final. Salah’s involvement in the tournament ended on Saturday though, with Egypt losing on penalties to Nigeria in the third-place play-off.

He’s now set to make his arrive back on Merseyside ahead of the Reds’ Champions League trip to Marseille, although it’s not yet clear whether he will be involved in the penultimate league phase encounter.

Manchester City looks like it may have answered that question though. Pep Guardiola’s side is heading to Norway to face Bodo/Glimt on Tuesday, and Salah’s Egypt teammate Omar Marmoush has been named in the traveling squad.

Given Salah and Liverpool has an extra 24 hours to prepare for their game in France, it would appear likely then that the 33-year-old will be in the squad to face Marseille, although we will have to wait until Tuesday for that to be confirmed.

Whether he is included could come down to his expected talks with Arne Slot upon his return, with the subject of his future set to come up following his outburst last month.

Arne Slot has confirmed he has been in talks with Mohamed Salah ahead of his return to Liverpool(Image: Getty Images)

Salah of course took aim at the club in an extraordinary interview, in which he accused Liverpool of throwing him “under the bus” after being named on the bench for three straight games, while claiming that his relationship with Slot had broken down.

The Liverpool boss did appear to repair some bridges when Salah was restored to the squad against Brighton, having been left out against Inter Milan a few days earlier, although the Egyptian had suggested that the game against the Seagulls would be his last for the club.

Whether that is the case will likely be answered this week, with Slot having confirmed that he has been in talks with Salah ahead of his return.

"We're in talks with him over what we expect over here,” Slot revealed last week. "That (whether he will be available against Marseille) is something we're talking with him about."

Slot added: "I'm happy that he comes back because Mo has been so important for this club.

"Even if I had 15 attackers, I still would have been happy if he came back, but that's not our current situation.

"I'm happy to have him back after an important game he has to play for Egypt."