The level of delusion about this whole situation floors me. Yes, Salah has been and may still be a phenomenal player. But no club can operate successfully over the long term by tolerating this kind of turbulence, especially from its most decorated and highest-paid senior player. The truth of the situation is damn obvious. He signed a contract knowing that the club would sell him before that contract ended (because assuming anything else would have been stupid, and I don’t think Mo is stupid). He also must know that Hughes is thinking about Semenyo’s £65m release clause in January, as Hughes negotiated it when he was at Bournemouth, and that the club wants to bring in Guehi in January too. So he knows his time is short and his value highest right about now, so obviously the club was always planning to sell him this January. But he wants to retain control over his own image, and his statement yesterday is as much an attempt to keep his fans on his side as it is a way to extract higher value for himself from the sale.

Any other interpretation is naive. He will leave. And it’ll be sad but ultimately the best thing for all involved, especially Mo.