Liverpool might have already found their next Mohamed Salah despite £80m claim

With Mohamed Salah’s contract saga rumbling on, it would be foolish of Liverpool not to be planning for the possibility that he might leave the club at some point in the next 15 months.

As the club put so much thought and planning into their transfer business, it’s likely they already have a shortlist of replacements for every member of Jurgen Klopp’s squad, as they can never be certain what the future will bring. At whatever point Salah’s time with the Reds ends, replacing him will be the toughest task Liverpool have to contend with at that moment.

The Egyptian has been the club’s top scorer every season since 2017/18 and is always near the top of their assist chart too. In reality an exact replacement is unlikely to be obtainable. Kylian Mbappe fits the bill, but despite numerous stories linking him with a move to Anfield over the years, a transfer doesn’t feel in the least bit likely.

With Liverpool possessing several other elite forwards, they could perhaps afford to have someone who is on their way up to the top level as a replacement for Salah. Former Red Jose Enrique has been speaking to Genting Casino and giving his thoughts on the matter.

“It won’t be easy to replace Salah, but there are players who could replace him; Raphinha could be one, I really like Bukayo Saka,” he said. “He’s very young, but maybe he could become a player close to Salah one day. This kind of player could do the job.”

“But if you let Salah go and pay £80million for Saka, plus the salary, it doesn’t make sense to me,” Enrique added, and it may be that the money men at Liverpool agree. Still, as with Mbappe there has been ample speculation that the Reds are interested in Saka, so could he make for a realistic replacement for Salah?

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