Liverpool given rapid response after ‘submitting great offer’ for Vinicius Jnr clone also wanted by Barcelona

Liverpool look set for disappointment after arriving too late in the day in the race to sign brilliant Brazilian attacker Rayan Vitor Simplicio  – but Frank Lampard has offered the Reds some words of encouragement over life after Mo Salah at Anfield.

The Reds are scouring the globe for would-be successors to Salah with the Egyptian star falling out of contract at the season’s end and eligible to sign a pre-contract agreement overseas from January 1. Understandably, Liverpool would love to tie down their star man to a new deal, but there needs to be some common ground reached given the player’s age and amid a series of hints by the player that he may be ready to move on at the season’s end.

As a result, sporting director Richard Hughes is wisely keeping tabs on potential replacements for Salah if indeed the Egyptian were to depart as a free agent in 2025.

Now according to Catalan news source E-Noticies, Liverpool have ‘submitted a great offer’ to Vasco Da Gama for their 18-year-old sensation, Rayan, who has already earned comparisons to Real Madrid superstar Vinicius Jnr in his native Brazil.

The player has a mammoth $70m (£54.4m, €65.3m) exit clause in his contract with the Rio de Janeiro-based side, which is due to expire in December 2025.

However, it would appear the Reds’ offer has arrived on the table too late with the teenage star already destined to join Barcelona, amid claims Deco is already closing in on his signature for a fee in the region of €18m (£15m, $19.4m).

As a result, it’s understood that Liverpool’s approach has arrived too late in the day with the Reds quickly seeing their approach knocked back.

READ MORE ~ Mo Salah: Liverpool superstar’s most outrageous stats which show Slot why he’s simply irreplaceable

Lampard gives Liverpool assurances over life after Salah

With a reputation down the years for not buying world-class stars but making them, it is easy to why Liverpool may have been looking at a possible deal for Rayan. At 18, he may not be the finished product but could develop into a top star in the years to come with the right coaching and players around him.

Unfortunately for Liverpool, that would appear to now be at Barcelona rather than Anfield.

Amid a growing belief that Salah could indeed move on at the season’s end – and our sources have informed us that the Reds ‘now expect’ the Egyptian to move on at the season’s end after rejecting their initial offers for a new deal – Liverpool may now need to prepare for the worst.

Despite that, former Everton and Chelsea boss Lampard believes the Reds have enough quality in their ranks already to show that they could live without their talismanic frontman if he does depart at the season’s end.

Speaking on Amazon Prime Video after Tuesday’s superb 4-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen, Lampard said: “This is not a problem for tonight, but if they’re going to lose Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk, that is a possible derail to this Liverpool machine, there’s no doubt about that.

“They [Liverpool] have to look at it and think about the big picture. For me, you would always try to keep Salah. But when you have other players now developing alongside that, then you can see a future, possibly, if you don’t have him.”

Slot, meanwhile, has delivered a perfect response to claims that Salah would be ‘irreplaceable’ were he to leave at the end of his contract.

“Is Salah irreplaceable? That’s not what I think about at the moment,” Slot told TNT Sport Brazil. “The only thing that I think about is that he’s so important for us scores important goals, works hard for the team and I’m hoping that he can enjoy that feeling (scoring at Anfield) many, many, many more times – especially if I’m here.

“But even if I’m not here I’m still hoping for him that he can do this many more times. He’s been incredible for Liverpool for the past six, seven, eight years.

“I don’t know exactly how long he’s been here, and he’s been incredible for us this season. I hope he can continue doing this for the rest of the season and maybe longer to come. But that’s something up to him and the club to find the idea about the future.”

Liverpool transfer latest: Salah wage demands emerge / Tchouameni talks

When it comes to other Salah replacements, Hughes is reported to have whittled down his list of tangible replacements for the Egyptian to just two names – with two £50m-rated Premier League stars now thought to be at the very top of Liverpool’s wishlist.

On the subject of Salah, the 32-year-old has recently been reported to have reappeared on Barcelona’s transfer wishlist and a report on Wednesday has revealed the mammoth wage demands the player has apparently asked the LaLiga giants for during his preliminary talks over a possible move to the Nou Camp.

Meanwhile, Liverpool are reported to have opened talks over a deal to sign Real Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni ahead of the January window and with Los Blancos’ take on his sale now coming to light. And it seems the Reds are growing increasingly hopeful that a first deal of the winter is already closing in.

Elsewhere, Slot has also put up the blockades over potential January exits for three Liverpool stars with the Dutch coach eager to keep his squad all intact ahead of a potential quadruple trophy push over the second half of the season.

Who is Brazil sensation Rayan?

By Samuel Bannister

He may only be 18 years old, but Rayan has already established himself at Vasco da Gama, a club his father used to represent as a defender but he stars for at the opposite end of the pitch.

Tentatively compared by some to Vinicius Junior, currently the best Brazilian player, Rayan is a right-winger who favours cutting inside onto his stronger left foot – but he can operate as a centre-forward too and could develop into that role in future.

After all, he was a prolific goalscorer at youth level but is – perhaps understandably – taking his time to develop his scoring ratio at senior level.

There is much cause for excitement with his style of play, though. There may be Vinicius comparisons but Rayan is almost 10cm taller than his compatriot, which can make him a threat in the box.

He regularly looks to carry the ball forward with a persistent approach and once he arrives in dangerous areas he has proven to be a capable crosser or creator of chances too.

There are naturally areas of his game to refine but Rayan has some intriguing aspects that he will be looking to make the most of in his career.