Liverpool hold talks to sign £130m ‘star’ like Salah in his first season
Liverpool will lose their star at the end of the 2025/26 season after Mohamed Salah confirmed this will be his last campaign at Anfield.
After nine seasons with the Reds, the Egyptian player has revealed that he will leave the club on a free transfer in the summer, with a year left before his contract starts.
The left-footed star will leave Merseyside as a true Liverpool legend after winning two Premier League titles and a Champions League trophy during his time at the club.
To date, Salah has scored 255 goals and provided 122 assists in 436 appearances across all competitions for the Reds, providing an almost constant threat at the other end of the pitch.
The task facing Richard Hughes and the recruitment team this summer is finding a way to change his production with a new signing, or more new signings, to strengthen the attack for next season.
Liverpool must decide if they want to sign an expensive superstar who is ready to step in and almost guarantee to replace Salah in front of goal, or if they want to sign a few young players with star potential.
The Reds have now been linked with a potential deal for the former winger, but it would be a costly move to pull off.
According to TEAMtalk, Liverpool are one of the clubs that could sign Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior in the upcoming summer transfer window.
The report says that consultants have contacted the Reds, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Manchester United regarding a possible deal for the Brazilian player.
It adds that he is expected to earn more than £500k-a-week in his next contract, with his current deal set to expire at the end of next season.
TEAMtalk reports that Real Madrid have offered the star forward and are not willing to develop him, meaning Vinicius has a big decision to make in the coming weeks.
The report claims that Los Blancos will look to cash in on him this summer if he chooses not to put pen to paper on an extension, which could open the way for Liverpool to sign the winger. Speaking of money, previous reports from last year suggested it would take £130m to prize him away from the Bernabeu.
Why Vinicius would be the perfect replacement for Salah
Although Vinicius doesn’t play on the right wing, the Brazilian star has the final third quality to replace Salah as the focal point of Liverpool’s attack going forward.
The left-back’s form in the Champions League for Real Madrid in recent seasons shows that he resembles Salah in his early career, given the impressive rate at which he can score and assist goals at the highest level.
So far, Salah has scored 50 goals and provided 21 assists in 97 games in the Champions League, averaging a goal or assist every 1.37 games.
Vinicius, on the other hand, has scored 34 goals and registered 32 assists in 80 games in the tournament, an average goal or assist per game of 1.21.
Salah delivered ten goals and five assists in his first season, in the 2017/18 campaign, and the Real Madrid star is just three goals behind that tally, with games to play, with five goals and seven assists this season.
|
25/26 Champions League |
Vinicius Junior |
Salah |
|---|---|---|
|
Appearance |
12 |
9 |
|
Goals |
5 |
3 |
|
Great opportunities have been created |
6 |
8 |
|
It helps |
4 |
2 |
|
Dribbles completed per game |
1.8 |
1.2 |
The Brazilian, who was described as a “star” by Luka Modric, has been the Liverpool striker’s best in this season’s competition.
Despite being as good, if not better, than Salah during his prime in the Champions League, Vinicius has also been on fire in LaLiga domestic football for Real, scoring 22 goals in the division since the start of last season.
The 25-year-old talent has scored 21 or more goals in three of the last four seasons, needs three more this season to make it four in a row, and will arrive at Anfield as Arne Slot’s top scorer.
With Salah leaving, Vinicius would be the perfect signing to take over as the club’s superstar because he has proven, at home and on the European stage, that he can be trusted to carry the weight of expectation in front of goal.
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However, £500k-a-week wages and the prospect of him signing an extension in Madrid mean any deal is unlikely for the Reds.
