Arne Slot says Jeremie Frimpong is an option to replace Mohamed Salah as Liverpool face the disruption of losing their talisman to the Africa Cup of Nations next season.
The Reds have bolstered their squad significantly this summer and Slot admits the aforementioned tournament has had an impact on his plans.
Frimpong, a £29.5million arrival from Bayer Leverkusen, is expected to be the direct replacement for Trent Alexander-Arnold at right-back but could be used further forward as a right-winger because Salah is not expected to be available all next season.
“Yes, we definitely thought about that. We brought in Jeremie Frimpong because we think he can play as a right full-back but I also think and feel he can play as a right-winger,” Slot told reporters.
“I, we, did think about the fact that we're going to miss Mo, I think as a maximum for six games – but that's quite a lot in the Premier League, especially if you see how well he did last season.
“Signing Jeremie Frimpong was for multiple reasons but one of them was also that he could replace Mo if Mo is not there. There are other options for me to replace Mo with as well – but Jeremie is definitely one of them.”
As Egypt have successfully qualified for AFCON which this year is being held in Morocco from December 21, 2025 to January 18, 2026, it means Salah - if selected - will be away at the tournament until December 31 at the earliest.
This is because that is when the group stage concludes and the best third-placed teams are decided.
If named in the Egypt squad, he is guaranteed to miss league games against Tottenham, Wolves and newly-promoted Leeds across the festive period.
Among the other games Salah could miss is Liverpool’s second meeting of the season against Arsenal as they are currently scheduled to travel to north London on January 7, 2026.
Ultimately it is all dependent on how The Pharaohs fare. Drawn in Group B alongside Zimbabwe, South Africa and Angola, they will be big favourites to reach the round of 16 which take place across January 3/4/5/6.
This scenario would rule Salah out of the game against Fulham at the beginning of 2026, while he will miss the Arsenal game should Egypt reach the quarter-final.
