Egypt has confirmed they are in talks with the current Premier League champions over their captain's availability for the tournament, with the Pharaohs kicking off their campaign against Zimbabwe on December 22.

They will be playing a warm-up game against Nigeria eight days later, and they want Salah available for that fixture.

It comes one day after Liverpool play Brighton in the league, and a decision to yet to be reached.

Egypt's national team director Ibrahim Hassan said: "We are still in contact with Liverpool and Manchester City at the moment for this matter."

City forward Omar Marmoush is in a similar situation, with the national side hoping he'll be available earlier.

Liverpool have been struggling in the league, winning just one of their last six PL games, with seven loses including defeats by the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United, Brentford and Chelsea.

Before Afcon gets underway, they have PL games against Nottingham Forest, West Ham United, Sunderland, Leeds United and Brighton.

They're also still competing in the league stage of the Champions League, with upcoming fixtures against PSV and Inter Milan adding to a stacked list of games.

The Reds have been linked with a move for Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo, 25, as potential cover for Salah, with AFCON taking place in December and January.

Semenyo's country Ghana didn't qualify for the tournament.