Opinions Divided: Mohamed Salah will eventually leave Liverpool, but it will be difficult to replace him in the transfer market. It’s possible that FSG won’t even bother looking for a direct heir
For the time being, Liverpool has avoided difficult inquiries regarding Mohamed Salah’s replacement. However, Saudi Arabia will return, and a transfer next summer seems increasingly likely.
The question of how to adjust to life without Salah will still arise at some point, regardless of whether Liverpool holds on for a longer period of time—and to their credit, FSG do have a strong track record of holding onto their key players until absolutely ridiculous money is placed on the table—or not. With Saudi Arabia in the background at the moment, it’s hard to imagine him staying beyond the end of his deal in 2025.
Liverpool appears to face an almost impossible transfer task when the time comes. Moneyball’s line comes to mind:
“I told you we couldn’t do it, and we couldn’t.” Now, we might be able to make him again. Recreate him as a whole.”
But is that sufficient? Not directly replacing Salah, who has been Liverpool’s talisman for so long, would be a bold strategy comparable to the one Billy Beane used in Moneyball.
How ought Liverpool to proceed? You can share your thoughts in the comments section below the article, where two of our Liverpool.com writers have shared their thoughts.
James Martin’s statement, “This isn’t a Moneyball moment,” will undoubtedly resonate with Liverpool. Simply put, it probably cannot completely take the place of Salah.
A replacement that is identical to the original would be doomed to failure. During his time at Liverpool, Salah has set incredibly high standards for himself, and no one has even come close to matching his consistency.
But neither is a small group of project participants the answer. That is demonstrated by Tottenham’s “magnificent seven,” which was signed with money from Gareth Bale.
In the end, Liverpool must search the market for new game-changers. It doesn’t have to be a right-winger with a left foot because Jürgen Klopp’s current attack has the quality and versatility to be changed. But he needs to be someone who can score points on his own because Salah won’t be around to fill that role.
After all, Liverpool has plenty of attacking talent even without him. It is his dependability that needs to be replaced; simply adding talented and promising players to the roster won’t be enough, not least because Klopp can still only field 11 players. Although it is possible for two or three signings to “add up” to Salah, this is of little use when there is only one available slot. The Reds must ultimately find their next true difference-maker.
David Comerford says, “The Moneyball approach is smarter.” I can definitely see the argument for adding another superstar. It seems like the best way to deal with Salah’s departure and a reassuring declaration of intent on the surface.
However, given that the Egyptian has been the best player in his position for a number of years, it’s hard to imagine any of the few players in Salah’s range being available. Even the players who are available for top-tier prices all appear to be significant downgrades.
In light of this, the best strategy might be to “recreate him in the aggregate” using the Moneyball method. Two players should be signed by Liverpool: one, perhaps, to replace his inventiveness—Salah has consistently ranked among the top assists in the league—and another to try to fill the goal-scoring void. They can also reach Salah’s remarkable minutes per game, which would be extremely difficult to achieve with just one player.
It is important to emphasize that Liverpool does not require a player of Salah’s caliber and is unlikely to locate one. Instead, it just needs to be as strong as it was before, so it makes sense to make multiple moves. The Reds should definitely have the money for a few people who can make a difference, given Saudi Arabia’s proposals.
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