Liverpool identify 21-year-old attacker as a possible replacement for Mohamed Salah: Reports

According to a report by the Daily Mail (via Centre Goals on X), Liverpool have identified Rayan Cherki as a possible replacement for Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian winger is in the final months of his contract at Anfield.

Salah’s current contract with the Reds will expire in June 2025. The 32-year-old has yet to pen a new deal and could leave as a free agent next summer. He has been heavily linked with a move to Saudi Arabia.

Liverpool are now planning for life without their prolific talisman. As per the aforementioned source, one player on their list to replace Salah is Rayan Cherki. The 21-year-old Lyon star is one of the highly rated talents in Ligue 1.

Lyon are currently undergoing financial issues. The Ligue 1 outfit has been handed a provisional relegation to the second division and will be demoted at the end of the season if they fail to improve their finances. Thus, the club could be forced to sell some of their best players including Cherki to settle their debts.

Liverpool will now look to use this opportunity to lure Lyon into selling Cherki to them. The France U-21 international currently has a market valuation of €20 million, as per Transfermarkt. An ambidextrous player, he can operate on both the left and right-wing but is primarily an attacking midfielder.

Since making his senior team debut for Lyon in 2020, Cherki has recorded 19 goals and 28 assists in 152 games.

Former Premier League star says Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah is not world-class

Former Premier League star Troy Deeney has opined that Liverpool star Mohammed Salah is not a world-class player. Speaking recently on talkSPORT, Deeney said:

"I think Mohamed Salah is excellent, he’s a pivotal part for Liverpool and they should never have let it [his expiring contract] get to this situation. But I understand that there’s a financial structure around what they want to try and keep to. My argument has always been that I just don’t think he’s world class. But world class is just a different opinion, what I think of world class is would I want my kids to play like that player?"

He continued:

"That's what I think is world class. If I was asking my kids who want to be forwards, I would be saying I would like them to look at what Vinicius Jr does as opposed to Mohamed Salah. But his goals that he [Salah] scores, he scores an unbelievable amount of goals, he's highly effective, but that’s just my opinion. He's probably going to turn around and say, 'Who the f*** is Troy?,' and fair play to him, but that's my opinion."

Salah joined Liverpool in 2017 from AS Roma. Since then, he has established himself as one of football’s most lethal forwards, scoring 221 goals and creating 99 more in 366 games for the Merseyside club.