Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has been told he can repeat his Mohamed Salah trick by bringing in a new attacker and turning him into a goalscoring machine. And the German, who is desperately trying to hold onto Salah amid interest from Saudi Arabia, has been given the names of seven players who could excel at Anfield under his guidance.
Liverpool signed Salah from Roma back in 2017 after agreeing a bargain £34million fee to secure the services of the Egypt international. Salah had scored just 15 league goals during his final campaign in Italy after returning 14 goals the season before.
But Klopp’s impact on Salah proved revolutionary, with the blockbuster star bagging 32 Premier League strikes during his maiden season in England. The forward has been prolific in front of goal for his current employers for the last six years and has racked up an incredible 188 goals for the team.
Liverpool turned down a £150m offer from Al-Ittihad in exchange for Salah last week following a surprise attempt by the Saudi club to prise the 31-year-old away from Anfield. But the Saudi transfer window doesn’t close until Friday, which means Klopp could still end up losing Salah. But former Liverpool midfielder Don Hutchison thinks the player can be replaced on Merseyside by a new forward.
“M Salah scored 6 at F,Tina (Fiorentina), 14 and 15 at Roma,” Hutchison wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “J Klopp turned Salah into the 25 goal man. No reason why J Klopp couldn’t do the same to [Rafael] Leao, [Federico] Chiesa, [Bukayo] Saka, [Jarrod] Bowen, [Kingsley] Coman, [Leroy] Sane etc etc. Or even play [Luis] Diaz on the right [Darwin] Nunez or [Diogo] Jota on the left. Loads of options.”
And when one X user threw the name of Napoli ace Khvicha Kvaratskhelia into the mix, Hutchison added: “Great shout.”
Liverpool have had no issues finding the back of the net this season, having bagged nine goals in their opening four matches. On Sunday, Salah scored his second goal of the campaign during his side’s 3-0 victory over Aston Villa after also getting his name on the scoresheet in the Reds’ 3-1 win over Bournemouth.
Liverpool also saw off Newcastle last month after winning the match 2-1 and secured a 1-1 draw with Chelsea on the opening weekend. “He played a top game – Mo had to work super hard and he did,” Klopp said after Sunday’s showdown with the Villans. “I’ve never had, and I don’t have now, doubts about his future, his commitment to this club.
“Believe me, you can’t imagine how much fuss the whole world makes and how calm we are with it. He’s our player, he wants to play here and that’s it.”
