The Egyptian National Football Team U23’s head coach Shawky Gharib has confirmed that Mohamed Salah will be included in the Olympic squad and would be expected to lead his country. Salah will be one of the three senior members of the team.
Shawky Gharib said: “Egypt U-23 team’s preliminary squad will be led by Mohamed Salah and Mohamed El-Shenawy alongside another goalkeeper.”
“Salah is currently one of the most important players in the world and it’s normal to call him for Egypt’s Olympic squad. We will start the official talks with Liverpool after the international break next March.”
However, Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp is reluctant to let Salah leave for the Olympics as he will miss the start of the Premier League 2021-22 season, which can be a huge blow for the Reds.
The Olympics is set to be held from 23rd July to 7th August. Meanwhile, the Premier League 2021-22 season will start on 8th August.
So this means Salah will miss the pre-season with the Reds and possibly the opening weeks of the season unless Jurgen Klopp decides to use him right after the Olympics.
The final Olympics team has not been announced yet and it seems Liverpool will definitely have a talk with the Egyptian national football team officials.