Liverpool pre-season plans: Mohamed Salah not among first players to return

Mohamed Salah is NOT among the first group of Liverpool players returning for pre-season training but wantaway duo Caoimhin Kelleher and Sepp van den Berg are present.  

The Reds’ first-team stars are beginning to make their way back to the AXA Training Centre after their summer break although several players remain involved in the latter stages of the Copa America and Euro 2024. 

Those players who were knocked out of the European Championship earlier this summer meanwhile have been granted extra time off. 

However it is the absence of Salah that has raised eyebrows as the squad gets together for the first time under new head coach Arne Slot. 

Salah, 32, spent the first part of June on international duty with Egypt as they endured two African World Cup qualification matches. 

The 211-time goalscorer has been spared Olympic duty, however, with it being confirmed that he will NOT be part of the Pharaohs squad travelling to Paris for the games later in June. 

A statement published on the club’s official website confirmed an initial group of eight players are returning to Merseyside on Friday and will be training in two groups of four. Salah wasn’t on either list. 

Liverpool's pre-season players

Stefan Bajcetic, Conor Bradley, Jarell Quansah and Sepp van den Berg are among the first group to train. 

Later in the day, the Reds’ staff will welcome back Owen Beck, Curtis Jones, Caoimhin Kelleher and Kostas Tsimikas. 

Van den Berg, Kelleher and Tsimikas have all been tipped for the Anfield exit this summer with the club hopeful of securing around £65 million in transfer fees this summer.

Van den Berg, 22, has been vocal about his desire to leave, accusing Liverpool of hindering his progress, while Kelleher seeks to establish himself as a No.1 goalkeeper elsewhere. 

Nonetheless BOTH are part of the initial pre-season programme at the AXA Training Centre. 

Salah contract situation

Salah meanwhile is out of contract in 2025 with no breakthrough over a new deal on the horizon. 

The club fended off interest in their talisman from Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad last summer and it’s been relatively quiet on the Salah front this time around. 

He could end up seeing out his contract and leave on a free next year or else new transfer chiefs Richard Hughes and Michael Edwards may opt to tie him down for an extension.