Liverpool warned against £55m transfer for Mohamed Salah replacement

Liverpool have been warned not to sign Endrick as a Mohamed Salah replacement, as they are very different players.

That is according to South American football expert Tim Vickery, who has downplayed Liverpool‘s chances of snapping up the Real Madrid forward.

The 20-year-old has scored seven goals in 40 games for Madrid but the vast majority of them have come as a substitute.

After failing to force his way into Xabi Alonso’s plans in the first half of last season, he spent the second half of the campaign on loan at Lyon, where he bagged 16 goal contributions in 21 matches.

And despite him being behind Kylian Mbappe in the attacking pecking order at Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid reportedly want to keep the Brazil international for the upcoming season.

That has not stopped links with Manchester United and Liverpool, with reports suggesting that the Merseyside outfit want to bring him to Anfield for around £55m.

Vickery, though, points out that Los Blancos are unlikely to countenance such a transfer as they agreed a deal worth up to £60m for the Brazilian, who joined Madrid as an 18-year-old.

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Endrick to Liverpool is a ‘longshot’

However, he does believe that the best thing for his career is going out and getting regular football away from Jose Mourinho’s team.

“I have my doubts. This is getting a lot of traction in Brazil that Liverpool are preparing a ‘big-money’ offer. But the fee that is being reported is less than Real Madrid paid for him a couple of years ago,” he said on talkSPORT.

“He hasn’t been a failure at all. The problem with Real Madrid is that he went to a club that didn’t need him. But his numbers aren’t bad (seven goals in 40 games) and he did very well on loan with Lyon.

“So there’s no way he can be worth less than he was as an 18-year-old. That is problem number one. How high are Liverpool prepared to go? And would Real Madrid want to sell him to a competitor in the Champions League?”

After nine years at Liverpool, Salah made an emotional exit from the club in the summer. The Egyptian scored 257 goals and added 123 assists in 442 games in all competitions.

The 34-year-old helped them win the Champions League and Premier League and will go down as a club legend. Whoever replaces him has huge shoes to fill. But Vickery does not think Endrick is the right player to do just that.

He added, “He’s left-footed. I know Lyon used him on the wide right, cutting in. Which would be a Salah role. I am not sure he is entirely a natural for that, certainly if you think he is going to get back and defend. That was something that didn’t work for Brazil.

“Part of me would love this to happen because I think it’s a shame he went to Real Madrid, a club that just didn’t need him. I would love to see him go somewhere he can get a regular game and ahead of steam because the talent is extraordinary but there are reasons to believe this [move to Liverpool] is a longshot.”

Liverpool are also trying to sign Paris Saint-Germain star Bradley Barcola, but his £100m+ fee could be the sticking point.

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