Virgil van Dijk says Liverpool “united as one” after Salah return

Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has welcomed the return of Egypt forward Mohamed Salah saying it will help unite the Premier League outfit.

After being left out of the traveling squad for the Champions League game against Inter Milan in midweek, Salah returned to the fold for the Premier League meeting with Brighton. He started the game on the bench but replaced the injured Joe Gomez in the first half, and produced one of his brightest performances of the campaign.

VIDEO: Watch Salah assist here;

During the game, Salah set a new Premier League record for goal involvements for a single club. The Egyptian took his combined tally of goals and assists in the top flight with The Reds to 277. By setting up Hugo Ekitike’s header, Salah’s totals now show 188 goals and 89 assists in the Premier League since joining the Reds in 2017.

Virgil van Dijk hopes Salah will return after AFCON

“We showed this week that we are absolutely united. We go forward as one,” said Van Dijk as quoted by BBC Sports. “Mo is going to AFCON and we all hope that he’ll be successful there and he’ll come back and be important for us for the rest of the season.

“The other side of it is that we all know football and we have no idea what is going to happen. I hope that he stays because he is one of my leaders and still very important for the football club. But there’s more parties to this situation.”

Speaking after the game, Ibrahima Konate gave his thoughts on Salah’s situation: “Personally no, I don’t think so. Today you saw how much he loves this club. What happened with him – you have to understand the frustration sometimes felt by players who have such a career, who have done so much.

“He is a player that everyone loves, the coach loves, he loves the coach, everyone loves each other at this club.”

Salah is scheduled to link up with the Egypt squad ahead of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco.