Liverpool’s star forward Mohamed Salah is preparing for important talks with Egyptian manager Hossam Hassan next week in a bid to avoid a new club-versus-nation row ahead of the African Cup of Nations. As part of their preparations for the winter tournament, Egypt will hold a training camp before facing the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and will face Jordan on Tuesday, December 9th and Nigeria on Sunday, December 14th.
According to local media, Egyptian coach Hassan has the authority to call up Liverpool’s Salah for the two games, along with Manchester City’s Omar Marmouche. However, Liverpool have Premier League and Champions League games against Leeds United and Inter Milan later that week, respectively, and they hope Salah will be available for those games.
Salah is also believed to want to remain at Liverpool and play in these competitive matches before joining the Egyptian squad next week. He already faces missing up to seven games depending on Egypt’s success.
The 33-year-old is scheduled to meet Hassan during the November international break, with Egypt set to play friendlies against Uzbekistan on Friday, November 14 and Algeria on Monday, November 17.
Salah wants to avoid conflict between club and country. The situation is reminiscent of two years ago, when Liverpool wrote to the Egyptian Football Association requesting the former Chelsea player’s exemption from international camp to protect his long-term health.
The demand sparked anger among locals in Egypt’s capital Cairo, who insisted it was “their right” to convene a salah. However, the national team ultimately accepted Liverpool’s request and Salah remained on Merseyside.
