Liverpool eye £86.5m Salah replacement who is nearing final year of contract

Liverpool have their eyes on a potential Mohamed Salah replacement in January, according to reports. The Reds turned down a £150m offer from Al-Ittihad in the closing stages of the summer window, but the Saudi giants remain keen on signing the Egyptian international in January and there have even been talks of a world-record offer in excess of £200m.

Liverpool were reluctant to sell their talisman in the summer as they felt it would have left them short on time to find a replacement. But Jurgen Klopp’s men now have four months to scour the market and find a forward who is capable of filling the strikers boots.

A number of names have been touted as potential targets for Liverpool including Portuguese star Pedro Goncalves. But another name on Liverpool’s radar appears to be Brazilian forward Rodrygo.

Reports from Spanish outlet Fichajes claim that Real Madrid would be open to the idea of selling the 22-year-old and his existing contract in the Spanish capital is due to expire in the summer of 2025. Football365 claims the player is valued at around £86.5m which is around half of the estimated fee that Liverpool would receive for Salah if he was to leave in the next window.

Rodrygo has been a part of the Real Madrid team since 2019 and he has been a member of the team which has won two La Liga titles, one Copa del Rey and a Champions League title. He is known for his pace and incredible technical ability which could be an asset to the Red’s frontline in future years.

His goalscoring output does not yet match that of Salah, though he did record his best goalscoring campaign last year with 14 goals in all competitions. Rodrgyo has represented Brazil on 16 occasions and scored four goals. He will continue to work closely with Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti at international level in future years and the Italian will become Brazil’s head coach at the end of the season.