The Japan Times - Van Dijk wants 'leader' Salah to stay at Liverpool

Salah came off the bench against Brighton on Saturday for his first appearance since claiming he had been "thrown under the bus" by the club following last weekend's 3-3 draw with Leeds.

The forward also said in the same interview at Elland Road that he had no relationship with Liverpool manager Arne Slot, who had named him as a substitute for three straight games.

Salah was then omitted from the midweek Champions League trip to Inter Milan, a 1-0 win for Liverpool, but he was back in action as a first-half substitute against Brighton.

The 33-year-old provided an assist for Hugo Ekitike's second goal in a much-needed 2-0 win, but will now jet to the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and could be absent for five weeks.

After the match, Slot said there was "no issue to resolve" with his star forward, but speculation continues to rumble over the player's future.

Van Dijk is adamant that he wants Salah to stay and said he had told him so.

"I would love to have him around because he is one of the leaders, but the fact is he is going to AFCON. We will be in contact over the next days and weeks like we always are and let's see," the Dutch defender said.

"I wish him absolutely all the best -- and (to) come back, hopefully. I have no control over that.

"We hope he will be absolutely successful there and we all hope he will be coming back to be important for the rest of the season.

"But, on the other side of it, we all know football and have no idea what is going to happen."

Premier League champions Liverpool ended a tumultuous week by extending their unbeaten run to five matches in all competitions.

Van Dijk said it proved the dressing room had not been distracted by the Salah situation.

"As a captain I have to deal with how the boys react to it and they reacted perfectly fine. Mo, in the end, reacted perfectly fine as well," he added.

Van Dijk also praised Slot for dealing with a tumultuous period at Liverpool, whose Premier League title defence has collapsed in recent weeks.

"There is a lot of noise, pressure from the outside world and rightly so as we've not been close to the standard we were showing last season," he said.

"But personally looking at it, and from the conversations we have on a daily basis, I think he has handled it very well.

"This moment of time is a very good moment to see how everyone responds. I think the manager has done perfectly."

H.Nakamura--JT