Slot was quick to point out that Salah has been benched by previous management without it resulting in an immediate exit request. He referenced a high-profile incident under the previous regime to illustrate his point that squad rotation should not necessarily lead to a transfer demand from key players.
“I remember West Ham away when he wasn’t playing [under Jurgen Klopp in 2024]. I wasn’t here then. He didn’t decide to leave,” Slot added. “The assumption is that if you don’t play in these games all of a sudden you want to leave. It is an assumption, and maybe it is true or maybe it isn’t, but history has shown he did not do that previously, and he had a great season after that.”