'More in than out' – Slot insists Liverpool star Salah not distracted by contract row

Liverpool boss Arne Slot does not believe Mohamed Salah has been distracted by his lack of a contract offer, after the Egyptian declared he was likely to leave the club.

After scoring twice to fire Liverpool to a 3-2 Premier League victory over Southampton on Sunday, Salah made headlines with comments about his future in the mixed zone.

Salah, who is out of contract at the end of the season, said he was "more out than in" due to Liverpool's failure to offer him new terms.

Salah's comments come at a key time for Liverpool, who face Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday before taking on Manchester City in the league on Sunday – a win in that latter match would take them 11 points clear of Pep Guardiola's stuttering champions.

Speaking at Tuesday's pre-match press conference, however, Slot insisted Salah maintains the same laser focus as always.

"The only thing I can say is, when I look at my lineups, Mo is more in than out. That quote I can give you," Slot said.

"He is not distracted at all. I haven't seen it after the Manchester United game when he made comments. I didn't see anything today, he is fully focused on the game tomorrow.

"If you had been at the training ground today, no one spoke about it at least when I was there. Players are also focused on the short term. That is Real Madrid and City.

"I don't think there is any distraction for him, the players and definitely not for me."

Salah has scored 12 goals and provided 10 assists in 18 games across all competitions this season. Both of those are team-high figures, while he also leads all his Liverpool team-mates for chances created (32), shots (55) and shots on target (32).

Former Reds defender Jamie Carragher responded to Salah's comments on his contract by describing the winger as "selfish" on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football, but Slot preferred to focus on Salah's ability rather than be drawn into that debate.

"I focus a bit more on what else Jamie said," said Slot when asked about Carragher's comments.

"He said Mo is one of the five best players we ever had at this club. I agree with him. I don't think it distracts Mo. My main focus is the next game. We have another big game coming up after that.

"I talked to Mo about what I expect from him, like I do with all the other players. I am not distracted at all by his comments and I do not feel his team-mates are as well."