Leroy Sane is no longer Liverpool’s ideal Mohamed Salah substitute.
Liverpool have been linked with a move for Leroy Sane as a possible replacement for Mohamed Salah, but such a transfer would be counterproductive, according to Theo Squires.
Jurgen Klopp has signed 36 first-team players for Liverpool since the start of his first full season at Anfield.
Wataru Endo became the latest arrival over the age of 30 this summer, joining an exclusive list alongside Ragnar Klavan, Alex Manninger, Adrian and Andy Lonergan.
AKA a £4.2m reserve centre-back, three back-up goalkeepers – two of which never kicked a ball competitively for the club – and a £16m holding midfielder, surprisingly brought in after selling Fabinho and missing out on Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia.
Virgil van Dijk, Xherdan Shaqiri, Thiago Alcantara, and Arthur are the only other signings over the age of 25 when signed by the Reds, and even then three of them were 26 with the Spaniard the odd one out at 29.
Admittedly he is a rare exception to Liverpool’s transfer policy as they snapped up a world-class player for an initial £20m.
Meanwhile, Gini Wijnaldum, Mohamed Salah, Alisson Becker, and Ben Davies are the only 25-year-olds brought in.
In other words, the rest were nowhere near entering their peak years upon arrival at Anfield, with the Reds’ preferred transfer model very much being one that acquires quality talent that will only get better.
Endo might have been 30 when signed this summer, but the rest of Liverpool’s long-awaited midfield revamp were the perfect examples of that desired profile, with Alexis Mac Allister 24-years-old, Dominik Szoboszlai aged 22, and Ryan Gravenberch still only 21.
Which is why eyebrows will have been raised this weekend at reports claiming that the Reds have made former Manchester City forward Leroy Sane their number one target to replace Salah.
With the Bayern Munich forward set to turn 28 in January, the ECHO understands that It would go against regular transfer policy for Liverpool to pursue his signature.
Admittedly, interest cannot be definitively ruled out given the signing of Thiago from the Bavarians back in 2020, but it would still be a surprise for the Reds to pursue such a signing when the time comes to replace Salah.
The Egyptian, who celebrated his 31st birthday this summer, is under contract at Anfield until 2025 after signing an improved deal that saw him become the best-paid player in the club’s history last summer.
Meanwhile, Liverpool fought hard to resist the advances of Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad in August.
While big-money Middle Eastern interest is expected to rear its head once more at the end of the season, there is no guarantee that the Reds’ stance will have changed considering the fact that Salah is in some of the best form of his career, boasting six goals and four assists from just 10 appearances so far this season.
He might turn 32 next summer, but, having broken the 30-goal barrier in each of the past three seasons, he is showing no signs of slowing down. Consequently Liverpool will be in no rush to replace their talisman as they conduct the most challenging transfer search of Klopp’s Anfield era.
It would appear counter-productive for the Reds to replace Salah with a player only four years younger than him. Sane might be entering his own peak, but that would mean his ceiling is already in sight, with his own replacement needing to then be sought in the not-too-distant future.
Admittedly, there is an argument that Liverpool might have actually already signed Salah’s replacement in Harvey Elliott, Kaide Gordon or Ben Doak. If so, a more senior profile could actually be beneficial to complement the young trio.
But considering the arrivals of Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo were all much more in line with their favoured transfer model when seeking replacements for Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino, a betting man would expect similar practice at Anfield.
Meanwhile, when it comes to Sane, the Mirror claim that Liverpool are even willing to ‘smash their club transfer record of £80m for Darwin Nunez in order to land the Germany winger.’ The Uruguayan actually cost an initial £64m.
That fee could rise to a potential £85m with add-ons, of course, depending on individual success, ranging from reaching appearance landmarks and scoring goals to winning the Champions League.
Only those who worked on the deal will be able to say with any certainty if a current record of 19 goals from 52 appearances has activated any such clauses, but the fact that the Reds are currently competing in the Europa League would suggest the striker isn’t close to being an ‘£80m club-record signing’ as things stand.
But regardless of that misstep, for Liverpool to spend over £80m on a 28-year-old again doesn’t sit within their preferred operating model.
Sane has enjoyed an eye-catching start to the season with Bayern Munich, returning seven goals from just nine appearances in the Bundesliga and Champions League.
Consequently, considering we are only in mid-October, he is on course to return a career-best scoring return this season
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