Mohamed Salah may not be present at Liverpool’s pre-season with Egypt planning to use him for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Olympic teams are predominantly made up of Under-23 players, but countries can add three senior players.
So now Egypt boss Shawky Gharib wants the Liverpool man as one of his designated overage players.
Salah will have to decide on whether to take part in the tournament in Tokyo or play in Liverpool’s pre-season.
The tournament is scheduled for 22 July to 8 August, with the opening day of the Premier League planned for the same day as the final.
“Out of the three senior players we’ll call-up, Salah is the only one we’re settled on so far because he’s simply one of the top three players in the world,” Gharib told ON Sport.
“I haven’t talked to Salah at all about him joining the U-23 squad for the Olympics, but in all honesty, his participation in the Olympics will need a little effort from him as well.”
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Reds’ boss, Jurgen Klopp has already addressed the issue but would not make his position publicly, instead maintaining there will be a private conversation between himself and Salah.
This article was most recently revised and updated 5 years ago
