Liverpool's Salah, Mane to Embark on 9,000-Mile Trip a Day Before FA Cup Derby
It is reported that one day before Liverpool's biggest game of the season so far - an FA Cup third round tie with arch-rivals Everton - instead of tactically and mentally prepping their two best players, the Anfield club are set to allow Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane to make a 9,000 mile round trip in order to attend the CAF Football of the Year award ceremony.
According to Sky Sports, Liverpool are considering hiring a private jet to allow both players to attend the award ceremony in Accra, Ghana, on 4th January.
The expense of the private jet will be a necessary one in order to ensure that both Salah and Mane are available for the crucial Merseyside Derby at Anfield.
Despite the Merseyside derby being pencilled in for a 19:55 kick off on January 5th, it is highly likely that both Liverpool forwards will suffer from some form of mental and physical fatigue due to the expected 14-hour round trip.
Both Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah have been shortlisted alongside Borussia Dortmund's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for the CAF African Footballer of the Year, largely due to their exceptional form under Jurgen Klopp at Anfield.
Salah in particular, has been exceptional in recent months, scoring an astonishing 20 goals during his first five months on Merseyside. The Egyptian international - who signed for a club record fee of £36.9m in the summer - has been the Premier League's most potent attacker, recently winning Premier League Player of the Month for his exploits during the month of November.
Like Salah, Sadio Mane has also received the Premier League Player of the Month award this season. The Senegalese forward won the award in August after scoring in Liverpool's first three games of the season.
Since August however, Mane has been regularly consigned to the sidelines, having struggled for fitness and form.
Jurgen Klopp will be hoping that the expected 9,000 mile round trip to attend an award ceremony will not negatively affect either of his star men's performance in what could be the defining game of Liverpool's 2017/18 season.
