Inside Liverpool's dressing room divide as sources reveal to LEWIS STEELE who players and club chiefs are backing in the Mohamed Salah v Arne Slot civil war: LIVERPOOL CONFIDENTIAL

If one thing was made clear this week in the aftermath of the Mohamed Salah soap opera, it is that Arne Slot has the backing of most other people in the building at Liverpool ’s HQ.

Either that or they are Oscar-level actors, with several players - like Curtis Jones, Alisson and Dominik Szoboszlai - talking up their respect for the head coach.

There is no hiding that this has been a wretched period for the Premier League champions and Slot’s future has been called into doubt at times.

But Confidential has spoken to a number of sources close to the situation or dressing room this week and the word back from most is that the players are well behind Slot, perhaps even more so after the Salah incident.

Many have talked about how they see Slot as a tactician that gets the best out of them (albeit not as much so recently). This was demonstrated in the San Siro on Tuesday with a crucial win that had Slot’s fingerprints all over it.

It is worth noting the loudness of the chants in Slot’s favour in Italy this week, too.

Mo Salah and Arne Slot have been at loggerheads this week - but most players in the Liverpool dressing room seem to be backing their manager in the split

Salah hasn't started a game since his extraordinary outburst after the draw with Leeds United and didn't travel with the team for the win at Inter Milan in midweek

The level of support that Slot received from the travelling fans in the San Siro this week was also noticeable

Some have questioned his man-management skills and his way of dealing with certain situations but we have been told his level of detail and communication make him stand out positively.

The 4-4-2 diamond that the boss has employed of late has also gone down well in the ranks, with players believing it brings the best out of several stars - and also gets as many senior players into the XI as possible.

More importantly, Slot has the backing of those upstairs. The decision to omit Salah from the squad on Tuesday was made in conjunction by the hierarchy and Slot. As ‘head coach’, he is trusted to make such moves but others helped him reach the final call.

Fenway Sports Group CEO Michael Edwards was in Milan, as was sporting director Richard Hughes. As they took the scenic flight back over the Alps, they would know the pressure on them and Slot has eased somewhat.

Reds to sign a defender!

Liverpool are closing in on the signing of 15-year-old Celtic wonderkid Dara Jikiemi and are poised to beat Nottingham Forest to the punch.

Online account S ecret Scout first revealed Liverpool’s interest in the defender and Confidential understands everything is heading in the right direction.

Jikiemi could follow in the footsteps of Ben Gannon-Doak, who also made the move from Celtic Park to Anfield as a teenager. The Scot is now at Bournemouth after a summer transfer.

Meanwhile, Manchester City have signed Under 15s midfielder Kaylum Moss from Liverpool after 10 years on their books.

Elliott is stuck in the middle

Why don’t Liverpool just recall Harvey Elliott and send him out somewhere else?

That’s a question I get asked most days by fans. Well, there are a multitude of reasons why it is not so straightforward. The main one is that Liverpool do not have an option to recall him.

Secondly, the midfielder was clearly deemed surplus to requirements in the summer - hence why he ended up moving to Aston Villa on deadline day.

Harvey Elliott is having a torrid time on loan at Aston Villa, where he has been banished to the reserves and is not even making the substitutes’ bench

Elliott will be returning to Anfield, but Liverpool may struggle to loan him out again because of a FIFA ruling that prohibits players from featuring for more than two clubs in the same season

The transfer included a £35million obligation to buy but, as Confidential exclusively revealed in October, this deal was dependent on Elliott playing 10 or more times for Unai Emery, who clearly did not fancy meeting that clause.

Elliott has been banished to the reserves and is not even making the substitutes’ bench for Villa, which has led the player to be deeply upset at his situation. He was already miffed at his playing time at Liverpool so made the difficult decision to leave in search of more minutes.

So as it stands, Elliott will be returning to Anfield at some point. However, the reason they cannot just loan him out elsewhere in January is a FIFA ruling that prohibits players from featuring for more than two clubs in the same season.

Around 18 months ago, Liverpool’s young full back Owen Beck was stopped from joining Celtic on loan as he had featured for the Reds in a cup match and already been out on loan to Dundee in the first half of that campaign.

However, Everton successfully navigated the rule this time last year when signing Carlos Alcaraz. He had played one match for Juventus before going to Brazilian side Flamengo, but the Toffees were let off as the South American season runs to different dates.

Poor Chiesa cannot catch a break

I saw a fair few Chiesas in my very limited free time mooching around Milan this week. Chiesa, of course, is Italian for ‘church’ and there are plenty in the fashionable city. There were also lots of Federico Chiesa No 14 shirts on show around the streets.

However, we really should have seen Chiesa the player on the pitch. He has been waiting patiently for the chance to start a meaningful game and with no Salah plus an injury to Cody Gakpo, the trip to his homeland might have been the perfect time.

Chiesa, the poor soul, was instead left at home because he reported an awfully-timed bout of the… well, let’s just say he was unwell. It rather sums up his time at Liverpool – just when you think he is ready to take a big step forward, something like this happens.

The former European Championship winner and Italy's MVP back in 2021 nearly flew out on Tuesday but was not well enough. He should be back in contention to face Brighton, the team Chiesa has his only Premier League start against. But does Slot trust him?

Federico Chiesa has been extremely unlucky during his Liverpool career and missed the trip to Inter Milan with illness

The Italian scored a vital goal in Liverpool's season opener against Bournemouth but has found game time hard to come by since

…but Wellity is certainly not Lucky

After discussing Chiesa's misfortune, it is time to talk about Wellity Lucky, the young Reds defender who was certainly not lucky to be in the Liverpool first-team group for the trip to Inter.

I have watched him many times for the academy and he is a class act. A defender who is quick, calm in possession and also has the necessary physicality for when he is ready to step up.

Given Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez are the only recognised senior centre backs at the club this season (presuming Giovanni Leoni is out for the whole campaign with his ligament injury) it is safe to say Lucky is on track for more first-team minutes before too long.

Amara Nallo has been called upon twice by Slot, though the defender has twice been sent off. It’ll be interesting to see if Slot calls on either player in the FA Cup tie against Barnsley next month. Versatile defender Carter Pinnington has also impressed for the youth sides this year.

Wellity Lucky deserves to be around the first-team group - he's a defender who is quick, calm in possession and has the necessary physicality

Amara Nallo has been sent off on both his senior appearances for Liverpool but could get a chance to impress against Barnsley in the FA Cup next month

Lack of depth to blame for Gakpo blow

Gakpo is set to face several weeks on the sidelines with an injury - which may well be a result of a lack of depth in attacking areas.

Rio Ngumoha has barely been seen recently and Liverpool, of course, miss Luis Diaz (which is easy to say in hindsight).

Conor Bradley will also miss Saturday's game against Brighton due to suspension and Dominik Szoboszlai is one yellow away from a ban himself.

Jeremie Frimpong is hoping to be back in the next week or so but it is unclear whether the Brighton test will come too soon for him.

Injury crisis impacting youth sides

A knock-on effect of the injury crisis at senior level is that the youth team suffered this week.

Trey Nyoni has missed the last couple of UEFA Youth League outings due to sitting on the first-team bench, with Lucky also stepping up.

I was in situ in Milan on Tuesday as Liverpool lost 5-0 to Inter in the final group game of the Youth League. Rob Page’s boys are into Friday’s draw for the next round, though, and will hope for a home tie.

The FA Youth Cup also starts for the Reds this weekend and they host Charlton at the AXA Training Centre. If they win, Simon Wiles’ team will face Watford or Plymouth away.

Winger Cody Gakpo is set for several weeks on the sidelines as part of a Reds injury crisis

The injury issues of the senior team are affecting the youth sides too - with the likes of Trey Nyoni (left) having to pad out the first-team bench

Kaide Gordon (right), who played in the Carabao Cup semi-final in 2022, has been hit by yet another unfortunate injury

In more bad news, fans will remember Kaide Gordon being the next big thing at Liverpool when he broke through in 2021 but his game time has been limited to eight first-team outings due to a string of injuries.

He missed the entirety of the 2022-23 season due to a long-term blow which was essentially growing pains. He spent last season on loan at Norwich and Portsmouth in the Championship.

Gordon, now 21, has been playing his best football in years as a No 10 for the Under 21s and has trained with the first-team several times.

However, he has now suffered a devastating setback. Gordon has torn his meniscus and is set for another significant period on the sidelines.

Chinese fans not happy with Salah

Interesting poll results sent to me this week by an acquaintance I met on the pre-season tour in Hong Kong this summer.

A huge Liverpool fan and pleasant chap who is big on Weibo, the Chinese version of X, tells me that a poll about Salah's bombshell interview saw 88 per cent of voters in China disagree with the forward’s actions.

In the same poll by Sky Sports over here, just 58 per cent disagreed. A totally useless fact for you - but one I found intriguing.

Salah's explosive interview after the final whistle at Elland Road on Saturday has left many of Liverpool's fans infuriated - especially in China, it would appear

Why not fill the bench?

Liverpool did not fill the substitutes’ bench for the trip to Inter and some have asked why Slot did not call up several youngsters to get the experience.

One possible reason, according to insiders, is that many players (not necessarily any Reds starlet in particular) have certain clauses in their contract that can trigger bonuses and in some cases wage increases when they make a first-team bench.

Also, it would prompt agents to get on the phone demanding a new contract for their client.

So maybe it is not always worth filling the bench for the sake of it.