The path to the pitch in Turkey may have begun on the bench in Turkey. Two months before Mohamed Salah signalled the end of his Liverpool FC career with the explosive outburst in which he claimed he had been thrown under the bus came the first indication that he had lost his status as an automatic choice.
Salah was benched for the Champions League defeat to Galatasaray in September. His cameo was notable for being the first time – albeit only for six minutes – that Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike and the Egyptian were on the field together. Arne Slot’s starting 11, though, formed the prelude to Salah’s dropping in November. And, indirectly, to his return to Turkey, to join Trabzonspor, to the euphoric reception he received at Istanbul airport on Wednesday.
