Liverpool news: Mohamed Salah future decided as Thiago Alcantara return confirmed

Liverpool will face Nottingham Forest on Sunday with the Reds chasing a Champions League spot

Liverpool will be looking to take a major step towards securing Champions League football when they take on Nottingham Forest on Sunday afternoon. The Reds have been hampered by inconsistency this season, and head coach Arne Slot knows they can't afford to drop many more points in the race for European football next season.

Despite their poor run of form at the end of last year, Liverpool have only lost twice in the Premier League this calendar year. Bournemouth beat the Reds in late January while Manchester City inflicted a rare home defeat on Slot's side earlier this month.

The Reds' uptick in form has also been aided by the return of Mohamed Salah from the Africa Cup of Nations. Today's Liverpool news sees Salah's future on Merseyside addressed, while an icon's return to the club has been confirmed.

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Mohamed Salah's future

There was genuine concern amongst many Liverpool fans that Salah would never play for the club again after his controversial post-match comments after a game against Brighton in December. Salah claimed he had been "thrown under the bus" by the club.

After being benched for a third consecutive game, Salah took Slot to task, insisting he didn't have a "relationship" with the Reds boss. That unsavoury incident now looks to have been put to bed, with Liverpool's need for fit and firing Salah as strong as ever.

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In the seven games Salah missed while he was in Morocco for AFCON, Liverpool scored just 11 goals, four of them against League One side Barnsley. You can compare that to the 20 bagged in the same number of games since the 33-year-old returned to the squad.

Salah has scored two goals and managed four assists in his seven appearances since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations. While the winger was linked with a January exit, he instead returned to Liverpool and looks to have rediscovered his rhythm of late, with Liverpool benefiting and no doubt eyeing another season with their talisman.

Interest from Saudi Arabia is likely to persist this summer, given he once more enters the final 12 months of his term on Merseyside. It was the summer of 2023 when officials from the league offered Liverpool £150million that was flatly turned down.

Yet that shouldn't alarm fans. Salah provided arguably his best-ever campaign for Liverpool across 2024/25 when he was also inside the last year of his Anfield deal. It would be unwise to bet against Salah regaining his top form before the season ends and seeing the man the Kop calls the 'Egyptian King' in red once again next season.

Thiago return

Reds icon Thiago is set to make his Anfield comeback for a clash that will see several Liverpool heroes of yesteryear take on a Borussia Dortmund legends side. Liverpool brought Thiago in from Bayern Munich back in 2020 for £26million.

The Spanish midfielder enjoyed four seasons with the Reds, making 98 appearances and scoring three goals. He played a major role as the club won both the FA Cup and League Cup during the 2021-22 season.

Thiago, 34, hung up his boots two years ago and is due to participate for the first time in the charity fixture, which takes place on Saturday, March 28. While his time on Merseyside was hit with injury, Thiago's bond with fans was undeniable.

When departing Liverpool he said: "Thankful for the opportunity to have been a part of this city, this club and this community. The continuous support I have received since day one has been incredible: Anfield cheering, the Kop chanting... amazing, overwhelming."

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Thiago joins a host of players for the game, including legends such as Steven Gerrard, Sami Hyypia, Martin Skrtel, Vladimir Smicer, Natasha Dowie, and goalkeepers Jerzy Dudek and Pepe Reina.

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