Five things noticed from Mohamed Salah's first Liverpool training session

Mohamed Salah has joined the list of players who have so far returned for pre-season training at the AXA Training Center as new manager Arne Slot gets preparations underway for the upcoming campaign.

Stefan Bajcetic, Conor Bradley, Jarell Quansah, Sepp van den Berg, Owen Beck, Curtis Jones, Caoimhin Kelleher and Kostas Tsimikas were the first group of players to train under Slot last Friday following the summer break, before Salah and Japanese midfielder Wataru Endo reported for duty on Wednesday.

The duo underwent testing ahead of their full return to training this week, with many Reds fans happy to see Salah back in familiar surroundings for the first time since the end of last season. The Anfield favourite will hope to hit the ground running as he looks to impress his new manager ahead of the first game of the campaign.

Here are five things liverpool.com noticed from Salah's first training session of pre-season back at the AXA Training Centre.

1) Salah's new look

It would be hard to start this list without addressing the major elephant in the room - Salah's new haircut. The Egyptian has adopted a completely new hairstyle ahead of the 2024-25 season, having ditched his signature afro for a buzz cut.

It's been known for a while now that the Egyptian had switched things up after uploading a photo to Instagram earlier this summer teasing the major change, while he was also snapped with the new look whilst away on international duty last month.

But his official return to pre-season training has only brought attention to it once more, with Salah's fresh trim clearly pictured in photos. The shaved head offers a strong hint at a hair transplant, meaning the 32-year-old could sport even more styles later on in the season.

2) First chat with Slot

Perhaps one of the most anticipated things about Salah's return was his first proper meeting with the new manager. Slot had already met some of the first-team players who returned to training last Friday but was yet to meet some of the club's biggest stars.

Following Salah's return, however, the Dutchman has had the opportunity to greet his star player and it looks as though things went pretty well. Footage posted onto social media by the club shows the pair smiling and engaging in conversation after Salah was welcomed back by his teammates and coaching staff.

Salah then greeted Slot and the duo shared a hug before having a laugh and discussion alongside another member of staff inside the club canteen.

3) Still ripped

Once Salah had shown off his new haircut and greeted everyone in the building, it was finally time for him to be put through his paces as part of a number of mandatory tests upon his return to pre-season.

One such image, however, shows the Egyptian with his top off and it's safe to say he hasn't put on any holiday weight during the off-season. The forward looked as ripped as ever with not an ounce of fat on his body, suggesting he is in top form heading into the new campaign.

It's not entirely sure what tests Salah underwent on his first day back, but it would be no surprise if he passed every single one with flying colours after returning in perfect shape.

4) Ball work

Salah may have been put down for testing on Wednesday but it also appears he was able to enjoy himself too, with images emerging of the Egyptian having a kick about outside.

It's not often that players are able to do some ball work on their first day back but it appears that was the case here. Whether it was just for a fun or part of training, however, is unclear but it was good to see the forward back with a ball at his feet.

Having returned with Endo, the pair may have been doing some light ball work together to get back into the swing of things - or Salah may have even been practicing some skills on his own in front of the camera.

5) Hitting the gym

Salah was also pictured in the gym on his first day back, with the winger seen leaning on a barbell in some pictures. Kitted out in a tight-fitted longsleeve top, he was certainly dressed for the occassion.

Other images showed Salah doing some one-to-one work with a club physio, where the Liverpool man appeared to be working on his balance, performing a series of different movements on one of the gym mats.

Salah seemed to spend the majority of his time in the gym, with other photos showing him in a number of different areas working on separate things. It can be sure that the Egyptian didn't take his first day back likely, with his strong mentality to be the best certainly shining through.