Liverpool eye potential Mo Salah replacement who has an ‘attractive profile for Klopp’ and would cost nothing

The transfer window may have closed but Liverpool remain a hot topic of conversation as the future of Mohamed Salah is still up in the air. The Egyptian winger has been heavily linked to a move to Saudi Arabia, and while the Reds have escaped a painful summer by hanging onto their star player, the January window poses just as much of a threat.

Al-Ittihad, who also bought Fabinho from Liverpool in July, are determined to snap up Salah. After seeing a £150 million bid immediately rejected, they were reportedly set to return with a world record offer of more than £200 million as they tried to finalise a deal before the Saudi Pro League window closed last Thursday.

Jurgen Klopp and co have managed to hold onto Salah for now but there is still a lot of talk over whether the 31-year-old will eventually pursue the blockbuster move. Naturally, Liverpool have been linked with a number of potential replacements, should the exit rumours become a reality.

One man who is on the Reds’ radar is Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams. According to Fichajes, the Spanish international is ‘presented as an attractive profile for Klopp’ who ‘values his ability to unbalance and contribute on the attacking front.’ However, they do face competition from both Manchester United and Barcelona, and all are circling Williams as he is now into the last 12 months of his contract.

The report claims that all three clubs are looking at swooping in for Williams next summer, meaning they will be able to sign him for free, which is quite the move for a 21-year-old attacker currently valued at €30 million (£25.7m).

Williams is already off to a flying start in LaLiga this season, having contributed four assists in as many games for Bilbao so far. Last season, he tallied nine goals and six assists across all competitions. The Premier League is a very attractive destination and should he turn his head, Liverpool would be signing a very promising player and they wouldn’t even have to dip into any potential Salah sale money to get him either.