Liverpool 'ready' to bid £115m for 18-goal winger, it's not 'unrealistic' for him to leave current club

An update has dropped on a potential Liverpool summer target as they consider replacing Mohamed Salah, whose future remains a grey area beyond the end of this season.

Saudi Arabia remain determined to sign the Egyptian superstar and big money is likely going to be involved again. Contrasting reports have since suggested Salah could be considering a contract extension but nothing is concrete right now, and Liverpool can’t afford to not have back-up if he does call time on his Anfield era.

A number of names have been thrown into the mix since last summer, when the Saudi Pro League’s interest in Salah first emerged. One player who is being discussed is Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior, who many are speculating over anyway following the club’s agreement to sign Kylian Mbappé at the end of the season.

A report from Spanish outlet Spain (via Football Transfers) earlier this month claimed that while Madrid do not want to part ways with the Brazilian, Liverpool are ‘ready’ to place a mammoth bid of €200 million (£171m) to tempt Vinicius to the Premier League.

Transfer expert Jonathan Johnson has weighed in on the situation at Madrid and believes that there could be a ‘clash’ between Vinicius and Mbappé in the near future. While the main focus of his point is on the idea of Paris Saint-Germain signing the winger with 18 goals and 10 assists this season, it potentially opens up space for Liverpool to work on a deal, if their interest in him stands.

“I think Los Blancos want to combine the two players. It could be at some point, though, because of the position they both play on the pitch, that some kind of clash becomes inevitable,” Johnson told Caught Offside. “There won’t necessarily be tension, but there might be a conflict of interests between the two as they’ll both want the same spot in the starting XI.

“If Vinicius were to become available at any point, I think PSG would be very interested, but I don’t think they’d want him in a scenario where they’d have to pay for Vinicius, having lost Mbappé on a free transfer.

“At the same time, there might be a moment when Vinicius might consider a move — we know his agent has spoken about the Premier League in the past. I don’t think it’s an unrealistic prospect at some point in the future, but for the moment nothing is happening — it doesn’t seem like the scenario is going to open itself up. That could change, but I don’t think this one is on the cards at all imminently.”