New Telegraph

Liverpool not in charge of African players’ trip for AFCON –Klopp

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has admitted the departure of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, and Naby Keita for the Africa Cup of Nations is not in the club’s hands.

 

The 29-year-old Salah will lead Egypt at Afcon, set for Cameroon from January 9, Mane will feature for Senegal while Keita will turn out for Guinea. Klopp has admitted the departure of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, and Naby Keita for the Africa Cup of Nations is not in the club’s hands.

 

The 29-year-old Salah will lead Egypt at Afcon, set for Cameroon from January 9, Mane will feature for Senegal while Keita will turn out for Guinea. As per the FIFA regulations, the three players are scheduled to leave after Liverpool’s Premier League match against Leeds United on Boxing Day, but Klopp has revealed they are negotiat

 

ing with the football associations over the possibility of delaying that date. “It’s not decided yet, definitely. I would say I’m an optimistic person, so I hope so but it’s not written in stone yet,” Klopp said as quoted by the club’s official website. “It’s not completely in our hands obviously – and no problem with that – but of course we hope. ‘Confidence’ is maybe not the right word for it.”

 

Salah and Mane have been a revelation for Liverpool in this campaign and it has seen them help the Reds to stay third on the 20-team table with 31 points from 14 matches.

 

The Pharaoh has managed 13  goals from 14 appearances in the top-flight so far this season while Mane has contributed seven goals from the same number of appearances. Should they leave after the Leeds game, it means the three players will miss matches against Leicester City and Chelsea at the end of the hectic festive period.

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