Liverpool must prepare for a future without Mohamed Salah and they could see his transfer heir apparent after the prodigy signed him this weekend.
The last few days of the transfer window have made it clear that Liverpool’s next priority is to replace Mohamed Salah. In January or summer next year, sooner or later the club will have to accept the fact that Salah will leave Anfield for pastures new.
He is already 31 years old and with the Saudi Arabian market competing for his services, it is only a matter of time before Liverpool receive an offer they cannot refuse.
It remains to be seen what this offer will look like. But it’s almost guaranteed that Liverpool will invest it back into the squad Jurgen Klopp has continued to build.
The trick to replacing Salah is not to replace him at all. There is simply no one like him in world football who can boast the same numbers. Players approaching would simply be out of Liverpool’s price range.
Instead, Liverpool should look to replace Salah using the “Moneyball” tactic of spreading Salah’s averages, bringing in many players to speed up the return of the Egyptian. Thus, Liverpool can also rebuild the team. Just as the club did when the Reds sold Philippe Coutinho and brought in Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho and Alisson.
With that in mind, one of the first players on Liverpool’s transfer list should be Takefusa Kubo. The Japan international has yet to post anywhere near the numbers that Salah can boast at Liverpool, but he could do a good job for the club on the right.
At the age of 22, Cuba was long considered a child prodigy, he chose the path of Martin Ødegaard and moved to Real Madrid at a very young age. But he has yet to truly live up to the hype that has surrounded him.
Last season was the first proper campaign he came close to, scoring 18 goals in all competitions. He is on his way to better things this season, having already scored three goals and assisted in his first four La Liga appearances.
As we saw with Ødegaard, just because a player didn’t arrive at Real Madrid as a prodigy doesn’t mean he’ll never be good enough for the Premier League. Cuba took a similar route to the Norwegian midfielder and could now use Real Sociedad to make their next move, as Odegaard did.
With the financial situation of most La Liga clubs not even comparable to the Premier League, Liverpool could sign him for a reasonable fee even if Cuba explodes this season. This would also allow the club to invest in other players and effectively replace Salah.
Kubo is not a similar replacement for the Egyptian, but he should be able to play a role in replacing Salah and provide a similar outlet on the right. Liverpool never turned to Ødegaard after Real Madrid first landed him, but another runaway prodigy at the Bernabéu could yet light up Anfield.
