Highlights
- Liverpool are facing a battle to keep Mo Salah at the club but have lined up an exciting replacement.
- They’ve been described as ‘world-class’ and are valued at around the £55m mark.
- He’s already got plenty of experience in the Premier League, having featured for Manchester City.
Liverpool have been given a massive dilemma on Deadline Day with an eye-watering £150m bid for Mohamed Salah being tabled from the Saudi Pro League, and now a fresh update has emerged on a potential move for a replacement.
Who could replace Mo Salah at Liverpool?
According to Football Insider in the last few hours, Liverpool are looking at a potential late move for Bayern Munich winger Leroy Sane before the transfer window slams shut at 11pm.
As per the report, the Reds were already eyeing up a move for another high-quality forward before an approach for Salah, but have now identified the Bundesliga forward as the replacement for their superstar should the club find themselves unable to reject further advances from Saudi Arabia.
Will Mo Salah leave Liverpool?
There is no doubt that Liverpool supporters will be feeling extremely anxious about the unfolding developments surrounding their star player during the remaining minutes and hours of the transfer window.
The Merseyside giants have already rejected a huge £150m approach for their Egyptian winger, however, CBS journalist Ben Jacobs delivered a new update revealing the Saudi Pro League’s unwillingness to give up just yet:
“Al-Ittihad waiting to see whether Mo Salah will help push for a move in any way. Hasn’t happened to date with Salah committed and focused on Sunday’s game with Villa. Reports he may fly to Jeddah tonight are wide of the mark.”
How good is Leroy Sane?
As a result, being prepared for the worst-case scenario would be extremely wise for both Jurgen Klopp and FSG in this particular situation, and a move for Sane could be a great opportunity to snap up the services of a high-quality winger who could either be a replacement for Salah, or push the winger for his position on the right wing.
The 27-year-old – once hailed a “world-class talent” by football talent scout Jacek Kulig – is one of the most high-performing forwards across the top five European leagues – ranking in the top 15% of his positional peers over the last 12 months for shots on goal, non-penalty goals, pass completion and successful take-ons per 90 minutes played, as per FBref.
When comparing Sane’s output to Salah’s last season, the pair shared similarities in many of their attacking attributes including shots on target rate (37.2% v 37.2%), shots on goal per 90 (3.49 v 3.31), goal-creating actions per 90 (0.67 v 0.66), shot-creating actions per 90 (4.17 v 3.83) and pass completion (81.6% v 76.1%), proving that the Bayern star could in fact be a worthy heir.
It is unknown as to how much the Bundesliga champions would command for their forward – who joined the club for £55m in 2020 – but Football Transfers rate his current value at around €49.3m (£42m).
With that being said, a move for Sane will definitely be one to watch in the dying hours of Deadline Day as he could present a real solution to Klopp’s biggest headache right now, which could only worsen if Salah follows Jordan Henderson, Roberto Firmino and Fabinho before time runs out.
