One observer has incredibly tipped a Manchester United flop as a viable replacement if Liverpool lose Mohamed Salah, while an equally unthinkable raid for an Arsenal ace has also been touted.
Salah, 32, is in the final year of his contract and if a new deal isn’t agreed, he’ll be free to sign a pre-contract agreement with overseas sides come January 1.
Liverpool intend to offer new deals to Salah as well as defensive duo Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk. However, Alexander-Arnold has Real Madrid on his tail, while Salah has long been linked with a switch to the Saudi Pro League.
And according to former Liverpool midfielder, Dietmar Hamann, Liverpool should look no further than Man Utd or Arsenal if forced into signing a replacement.
Hamann remarkably claimed United flop Jadon Sancho – currently on loan at Chelsea – would be an option if he can rediscover the form he showed in both spells at Borussia Dortmund. Hamann’s preferred option to replace Salah is Arsenal superstar Bukayo Saka, though the Gunners would obviously have a thing or two to say about that.
“No one can replicate Mohamed Salah’s numbers and his availability,” Hamann told Flashscore. “If I had to pick another player to replace him with, Liverpool would have to go for Bukayo Saka.
“If Jadon Sancho can find the form he had at Borussia Dortmund, he could be an option to play on the right wing. In the short term, Liverpool have great forwards to fill in that spot too.”
READ MORE: The key contract details of every Liverpool first-team player: Expiry dates, weekly wages, agents…
Why Sancho or Saka to Liverpool are non-starters
The Saka suggestion requires little explanation – he’s homegrown, Arsenal’s talisman, and also contracted until 2027.
Even in the off chance Arsenal were open to a sale they would surely make it expensive beyond belief for the Reds.
Sancho is equally as unlikely to wind up at Anfield for very different reasons. Sancho has shown little of note during his time in England to suggest he’s capable of replacing Salah.
What’s more, his current loan agreement at Chelsea contains a conditional obligation to buy worth a sum in the £20m-£25m range.
The condition that will trigger the deal is Chelsea finishing 14th or higher in the Premier League during the 2024/25 season.
The Blues currently sit sixth in the table and have looked a revitalised force under new boss Enzo Maresca. It is extremely difficult to see Chelsea finishing 15th or below, meaning Sancho’s permanent switch to Chelsea is almost assured.
Latest Liverpool news – TAA “gone” / Gerrard on Salah
In other news, Sky Sports pundit Tim Sherwood has declared Alexander-Arnold is “gone.”
“I think with Trent, I think he’s gone. Once Real Madrid come knocking for you… he’s won everything at the football club and been a magnificent servant but there’s no chance they’re keeping him now I wouldn’t have thought.
“With Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah, I think it’s completely different because I’m not sure where they are going to go which is better than Liverpool.”
Elsewhere, Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard has urged Salah to sign a new deal at Anfield. That’s despite Gerrard managing in Saudi Arabia – the country Salah is expected to move to if leaving the Reds.
Finally, TEAMtalk can reveal that while Napoli winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is a player Liverpool admire, we understand he is not a priority target for the club.
Kvaratskhelia has been indexed to Liverpool on the back of the uncertainty surrounding Salah’s future. Transfer insider Rudy Galetti told us that fellow wingers Takefusa Kubo, Karim Adeyemi and Leroy Sane – all left-footers – are preferred to the Georgian.
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