Liverpool manager Arne Slot has acknowledged the significance of Mohamed Salah to the club amid speculation regarding his future. Salah has recently been absent from the starting line-up, remaining an unused substitute against West Ham and only playing 45 minutes from the bench in the match against Sunderland. This has led to increased chatter about a potential move to the Saudi Pro League, particularly with the January transfer window approaching.

Slot stated, "I think for every player in my mind can start and Mo is an exceptional player for us. He is always in my mind to either start or to come [off the bench]." He added, "The chatter, yes [I understand it] because he deserves that; he has been so influential for me and six or seven years. It's completely normal people talk about it when he isn't [playing]."

As Liverpool gears up to face Leeds in the Premier League this weekend, Salah's impressive record against the Yorkshire side is noteworthy. He has scored nine goals in six league meetings, including a hat-trick in 2020. Slot reflected on Leeds' recent performance against Chelsea, noting the challenges they pose. "Yesterday I looked at Leeds vs Chelsea and I thought I saw a Liverpool game - Chelsea conceding a set-piece and for the third goal making a big, big error," he remarked.

He continued, "What we expect is what we have seen in the second half against City, when they were 2-0 down coming back to 2-2. Eventually [Phil] Foden made the difference with a moment of magic for City and against Chelsea they were really strong, played really aggressive. We know what to expect, but what we expect is what we have faced in nearly all our games, with the exception of two."

In the previous match against Sunderland, Liverpool's defence was put to the test, with Federico Chiesa making a crucial clearance to prevent a late goal. When asked about the possibility of starting Chiesa against Leeds, Slot said, "Every player has a possibility to start but we have many options to start in his position. So many times, he has had an impact a few times, so normally you bring a striker in to score but he in this situation kept on running when a player might stop and think they cannot do a lot one-v-one so that says a lot about his mentality to not concede."

As Liverpool prepares for the match, the focus remains on Salah's role and the team's strategy against a challenging Leeds side.