Redknapp foresees Salah leaving Liverpool in January

According to former Liverpool midfielder Jamie Redknapp, the decision by the club’s manager Arne Slot to keep benching Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah could see the player leave the Anfield outfit during the January transfer window.

Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) bound Salah was benched for the second straight game in Liverpool colours as the Premier League outfit struggled to secure a 1-1 Premier League draw against Sunderland at Anfield on Wednesday.

Salah was an unused substitute at West Ham and the expectation was that he would return to the starting lineup against Sunderland, but manager Arne Slot opted to make only one change to his side.

Reacting to the latest decision by Slot after the Sunderland game, Redknapp said Salah will not stay happy watching Liverpool from the bench and could force out a move in January.

Salah wants to play week in, week out

“He’s a Premier League great, a Liverpool great and that’s why I don’t think this is going to end well,” Redknapp said on Sky Sports as quoted by Complete Sports.

“It will be a difficult situation now because the manager, when you’ve got someone who is so good, so important to the team, in and around the dressing room and how they react and act in training.

‘“He’s not going to want to be on the bench, he hasn’t signed this contract to see his career out. He wants to play week in, week out. I’ll be amazed if he sees out the last two years of his contract, or year and a half. I don’t think this helps the situation one bit. Nothing will surprise me in football – whether it’s in January or maybe in the summer.

“If the right club was to come around… a lot will be decided by this man. He’s earned that right. And if he says: ‘Look, if I’m not going to be a starter for you, I’m not one of those players who is going to hang around. I will go wherever it takes.’ I still feel he will want to play in Europe.

“The first thing we’re all going to say is he’ll go to Saudi – he’s obviously a legend in that part of the world – or he’ll want to go to the US, but this for me now is a real breaking point in the relationship.”

He concluded: “He’ll feel let down and, like you say, maybe even blamed for what’s going on. But while the team is winning without him… I saw those stats and they’re pretty good when he doesn’t play. No one is indispensable, time waits for no one, and it’s going to be difficult now.”

Salah has already been named in the Pharaohs squad for the 2025 AFCON slated for Morocco in December. Egypt is scheduled to take part in the December training camp, scheduled to begin on December 3, as preparations intensify for the AFCON.

The tournament will be held in Morocco from 21 December 2024 to 18 January 2025, and the Pharaohs enter the competition aiming to secure at least a semifinal spot.

Egypt will play a friendly against Nigeria on 14 December at Cairo International Stadium, the team’s final test before traveling to Morocco on 17 December for the Africa Cup of Nations.