Virgil van Dijk has emphasised how crucial Mohamed Salah remains to Liverpool’s ambitions this campaign.
The Egyptian forward produced one of his standout displays in what has been a disappointing season during the FA Cup victory against Brighton, converting from the spot and setting up a teammate in the 3-0 triumph.
Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai were also on target as the Reds progressed comfortably to the fifth round.
Despite netting just twice for the club since the start of November, Van Dijk maintained that his teammate contributes in ways that statistics fail to capture.
Since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations, Salah has featured from the start in every fixture for Liverpool.
The picture looked rather different before his international commitments, when the 32-year-old found himself on the bench for four matches and left out entirely for another.
This followed the forward speaking openly about his difficulties, suggesting his relationship with head coach Arne Slot had deteriorated and raising questions about his short-term future at Anfield.
However, the tension between player and manager appears to have subsided while Salah was away representing Egypt, with the winger now seemingly better aligned with Slot’s tactical demands.
Virgil van Dijk has emphasised how crucial Mohamed Salah remains to Liverpool’s ambitions this campaign
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He said: “I think Mo is still so important for us. He is still a leader and important for me personally, as a captain, to have around and to have him on the pitch as his presence benefits the team.
“He always gives the team more than goals. There’s obviously a lot of focus on his goals at the moment and that’s also part of his life because he sets the standards so extremely high that when he doesn’t score as much he gets criticised.
“For us, nothing has changed, we all want him to score and we all want us to do well as a team but it’s not been an easy season and the only thing we and he can do is keep going and try to be important.
“There is a lot more than just to be out there trying to score goals, there are so many things people don’t see that are important to try to become a successful team.”
Salah has featured from the start in every fixture for Liverpool since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations
| GETTYDespite the apparent truce off the field, doubts remain over whether Salah will see out the final year of his contract, especially if his numbers do not improve.
But Van Dijk wants him to at least see out his current deal, adding: “The full focus is on trying to make this season a success first and then you never know what happens.
“I always want Mo to stay because I’m a good friend and we’ve been through the highs and not-so-highs together for so many years.”
While Salah’s form appears to be on the wane, summer signing Milos Kerkez has overcome a difficult start to his Liverpool career and begun to show the form which made him a £40million left-back.
Salah spoke openly about his relationship with head coach Arne Slot previously in the season
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Van Dijk said: “It is pretty clear you definitely see an improvement. He is still so young and getting used to being a Liverpool player, it is a lot more than kicking a ball on the pitch, especially when the team has been inconsistent it’s not easy to play your best games.
“For him, it is to just keep improving, and I think he can improve even more but that comes with experience, dealing with everything which comes his way on and off the pitch.”
Seagulls boss Fabian Hurzeler insisted he is not worried about his side’s lack of goals after a third successive game without scoring.
He said: “Scoring goals is being in the right mindset, the right mood. If we didn’t create the chances, I would be more concerned.”