Jamie Carragher names player Jurgen Klopp wanted to sign at Liverpool ahead of Mo Salah

Liverpool icon Jamie Carragher has claimed that Jurgen Klopp had his sights on Julian Brandt instead of Mohamed Salah when the Egyptian joined the club.

Salah secured a move to Anfield for a then club-record fee of £37 million from AS Roma. The winger rose to stardom with the Merseyside outfit and has cemented his status as a Liverpool icon.

Carragher claims that Klopp wanted to sign Borussia Dortmund forward Julian Brandt, who was at Bayer Leverkusen at the time, instead of Salah. While speaking about why managers should not always get the players they want, the pundit said on the Stick to Football podcast (as quoted by the Daily Mail):

"When he initially came in, an interesting one was Mohamed Salah and Jurgen Klopp is open about this. He didn’t want to sign him, he wanted Julian Brandt."

He added:

"Liverpool had tried to sign Salah before he went to Chelsea and the people behind the scenes at Liverpool were still there and Salah then went to Roma, and they were very adamant that they had to sign this player."

"You look at what Mohamed Salah has done but it could have easily gone the other way."

Salah had an exceptional debut season at Anfield, setting the Premier League record (at the time) for most goals (32) scored in a season while helping the Reds reach the 2018 Champions League final. He has won the Premier League, the Champions League, the FA Cup, and the League Cup, amongst other honors, with the Merseysiders.

"I know we have the quality" - Diogo Jota says Liverpool can cope without Mo Salah

Liverpool forward Diogo Jota remains confident of his side's ability to perform in Salah's absence.

The Egypt international is currently away with his national team for the African Cup of Nations. He could miss up to six more games for the Reds if Egypt reach the final this year.

While this may cause doubts, given the club's reliance on Salah this season, Jota believes the team can cope without him. The Portuguese forward said (via The Mirror):

“Obviously, we will be without Mo Salah for the next month or so while he is with Egypt at AFCON. If I remember right, we did quite well two years ago when he was last away at the tournament. But it’s never easy because the team is used to having Mo on that right wing and we know what a threat he is for the opponent."

He added:

“Just his presence, even sometimes without touching the ball, is enough. We don’t have that, so we need to adapt. On the other hand, I know we have the quality in this squad to make his absence look like it’s not happening. We know with him it would be easier, but we’re all willing to give it a go.”

Salah has been in stellar form for the Merseyside outfit this season, recording 18 goals and nine assists across all competitions. The former Chelsea winger has scored nearly a third of Liverpool's goals in the league this term.