Exclusive: Liverpool likely already preparing for transfer targets to replace Mohamed Salah, says expert

Liverpool are likely to already be preparing for the potential departure of star player Mohamed Salah by identifying transfer targets to replace him in attack, according to Neil Jones in his exclusive column for the Daily Briefing.

However, Jones insists he is surprised to see Bayern Munich winger Leroy Sane continuing to come up as a name reportedly on the Reds’ list of targets, as he doesn’t feel this would be a signing that fits the club’s recruitment policy.

Sane has had a fine career with the likes of Bayern and Manchester City, and one imagines that, at his peak, he would have been a good fit for Jurgen Klopp’s side, though he’s not getting any younger and has never been a particularly similar style of player to Salah anyway.

While Liverpool are likely to be planning for life after their Egyptian superstar, according to Jones, he is unsure about the stories involving Sane, and seemed to urge caution on that front.

The topic of Mo Salah and Saudi Arabia is not going to go away. We know that. Liverpool were able to stand firm (and rightly so) in the summer, but the noises will start up again before the January window opens, and with the Egyptian now heading towards the final year of his contract, it will be harder and harder for the Reds to resist big money,” Jones explained.

“I would be amazed if Liverpool haven’t already begun earmarking players who can potentially come in if Salah leaves, whether in January, next summer or (less likely) as a free agent in 2025, but it surprises me that Leroy Sane’s name continues to be linked with the club.

“The German international is a fine player, no doubt, but he will be 28 in January, and only twice in his career has he hit double figures in terms of league goals in a season.

Both of those were at Manchester City, before his progress was checked by a serious knee injury.

“Clearly, finding another Salah is going to be nigh-on impossible, but if we look at Liverpool’s previous transfer dealings, you can see a clear pattern in terms of the type of profile they would look for; 22-25 years old, 150+ top-level games under their belt, versatility in terms of position, experience in European competition and both a proven level of output, but with the room (and the attitude) to develop quickly and significantly under a coach like Klopp.

“Who that might be, that’s another matter entirely, but someone like Sane would represent a shift away from that policy in my opinion. I’d be wary of those links.”

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Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister only needed three passes to justify an ‘amazing’ Diogo Jota verdict and a key decision from manager Jürgen Klopp.

Heading into the international break, Liverpool knew it was in a tricky spot with four of its players.

Goalkeeper Alisson, midfielder Alexis Mac Allister and forwards Luis Díaz and Darwin Núñez would be in South American World Cup qualifying action in the early hours of Wednesday morning UK time, and then expected to figure in an early kick-off against Everton the following Saturday.

It was the second time this season Liverpool had faced this situation (it was also handed the same fixture slot against Wolves after the September international window), but this time it decided to handle things differently.

As Jürgen Klopp explained in his pre-match press conference (via LFC) the club picked up the players from their respective games and then brought them all to the same airport so they could travel home together as swiftly as possible.

It’s possible that the Reds changed their approach after seeing Mac Allister struggle at Wolves, so much so that Klopp substituted him at half-time.

The clearly fatigued Argentine produced an error-strewn performance that day, and it briefly looked as if there might be more of the same here as he started once again.

Mac Allister’s first notable action was to give the ball away in his own final third, leading a few moments later to a presentable headed chance for Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Fortunately for Liverpool, though, his quality would shine through in the end, with three passes standing out in particular.

First, there was a piece of play reminiscent of new teammate Thiago as he received the ball from Díaz, opened up his body to disguise his intention, then fired cut a pass straight through to Ryan Gravenberch as Everton waited for a sideways or diagonal ball.

Gravenberch would work it onto Dominik Szoboszlai, who in turn fed Mohamed Salah, but the Egyptian’s miskick denied Liverpool a goal involving all three of its starting midfielders.

Later, Mac Allister once again drifted out towards the left flank, this time to pick it up from Tsimikas, before switching the play to Salah with a clipped pass.

There was just enough backspin for the 31-year-old to run onto it without losing any momentum, and if he’d cut it back to a wide open Szoboszlai, it may well have led to a goal.

But at the third time of asking, Salah made the most of Mac Allister’s fine play. Deep into stoppage time, Joël Matip poked the ball out to Liverpool’s number 10, and even with Youssef Chermiti pressuring him from behind and James Garner in front of him, he managed to squeeze a pass out to Núñez, who raced forward to set-up the game-sealing goal for Salah.

Only when watching the replay could you truly the appreciate the precision of Mac Allister’s pre-assist, his second of the season after a sublime ball in the lead-up to a Díaz goal on his debut against Chelsea.