Liverpool must have realized this summer that the club is edging closer to an important decision regarding Mohamed Salah. With Saudi Arabian interest only set to intensify for Mohamed Salah, even though Liverpool managed to resist the pull this time around, they won’t be able to do that forever.
As the Saudi Arabian clubs have proven this summer, their unlimited wealth and untapped economic power means nothing can be ruled out. It is only a matter of time before Liverpool receives an offer that is ‘irresistible’ for Salah.
Especially, given the fact that he is set to turn 32 years old next year and has a contract only until 2025 with the club.
Who could possibly replace him in the Liverpool team is moot though. The likelihood is that Liverpool will not be able to get a like-for-like replacement who will be just as good as the Egyptian, but it could invest the money it gets for him into the squad and strengthen the side overall. Just like it once did with Philippe Coutinho, when he was sold to Barcelona.
Nonetheless, Liverpool will still need a right-winger, probably of a similar profile to Salah.
One player who ticks a lot of boxes is someone who has been on Liverpool’s transfer radar for years in Karim Adeyemi. A left-footed, rapid player who plays on the right wing, Adeyemi has the potential to be a worthy candidate in Liverpool’s attack.
A product of Red Bull’s gegenpressing machine, he also understands the fundamental principles of Jürgen Klopp’s pressing game at Liverpool.
But in order for him to be ready to make the step up in the near future, he does need to add more consistency to his game. At Borussia Dortmund, he has only shown flashes of his true potential, and he needs to be scoring goals on a regular basis and starting games for his club side before he can be in the conversation to be an heir to Salah’s throne.
What he does have to his advantage is that he is young, and when he has gotten going at Borussia Dortmund, the flashes have been really exciting.
On top of that, he also has a close friend at Liverpool in Dominik Szoboszlai. The pair know each other well from their days at Red Bull Salzburg, and last season Szoboszlai even copied Adeyemi’s celebration when he scored a goal against Bayern Munich to help Borussia Dortmund gain an advantage in the title race.
When asked about his celebration, Szoboszlai couldn’t have been more glowing of Adeyemi.
“He’s one of my best friends,” Szoboszlai told bundesliga.com “We had a phone call before the game, and he was just telling me, ‘Please, if you can, do your best.’ I said: ‘First all of we have to concentrate on us and reaching the Champions League, but if with this win I can help you, then I will give it my best. It was for him.”
Perhaps one day they can be reunited at Anfield. If Adeyemi has a breakthrough season at Borussia Dortmund and Salah departs for pastures new, it’s certainly on the cards.
