Liverpool told explosive 101-goal free agent is ‘great replacement’ for Mo Salah – ‘what he did to Arsenal…’

Liverpool have been told exactly why Leroy Sane would be the ideal replacement for Mo Salah at Anfield amid suggestions one of European football’s big spenders are ready to make the Egyptian their No 1 transfer target in 2025.

Salah has been proved an absolute steal of a signing since arriving in a bargain £36.9m move from Roma back in the summer 2017, playing a leading role in steering Liverpool to Champions League glory in 2019 and the Premier League title a year later. But having won seven trophies in his time at Anfield, there is a growing fear that a parting of ways could be on the cards in 2025.

Indeed, with his contract on Merseyside due to expire at the season’s end, Salah will be eligible to sign a pre-contract agreement with overseas sides from January 1 – just 73 days from now.

If that were to happen, Liverpool would be left with a gargantuan hole in their side to fill. Salah already has six goals and five assists to his name from 10 appearances this season and sits fifth overall on the club’s all-time top goalscorers list.

As a result, and to make sure they have a plan in place, Liverpool have been linked with a plethora of replacements for the Egyptian superstar – though, according to Jermaine Pennant that hunt should start and end with Sane, who himself will be a free agent at Bayern Munich next summer.

“There are wingers out there with the pace and goalscoring ability that you could replace Mohamed Salah with. I’d love to see Leroy Sane come in from Bayern Munich, after seeing what he did to Arsenal in the Champions League [in April],” former Liverpool star Pennant said.

“I haven’t seen many players do that to Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, and he does it every week in Germany. He knows the Premier League from his time at Manchester City, so for me he would be a great replacement for Salah if he leaves Liverpool.”

The 41-year-old added: “Would he put up the numbers that Salah does? I don’t think so, but then again, who would?”

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Mo Salah: Euro giants ready huge move as Slot addresses Liverpool future

The main threat to Liverpool’s quest to keeping Salah on Merseyside has generated from Saudi Arabia, where Al-Ittihad continue to strongly be linked with his signature. With riches on offer in the Gulf State that Liverpool simply would not be able to match, Graeme Souness recently went on record to explain why he thinks the Egyptian will be tempted to make the move.

Sources have told us that officials at Liverpool have a growing fear Salah will leave and now ‘expect’ Salah to depart with talks over a new deal having recently failed to see an agreement reached.

And to add further to Liverpool’s concerns, reports in Spain now claim PSG are gearing up for a gigantic approach to Salah’s representatives over a move to take the winger to the French capital in 2025.

Arne Slot, meanwhile, has spoken out on the Egyptian star – as well as their other soon-to-be out-of-contract stars in Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk – to stress he does not feel any concern over their focus to the Reds’ cause.

“For me, it is not something I am wondering about,” Slot told the media. “If after the last game of this season is played then it might bother me to think ‘Are they here or not?’ But my main focus is now the short-term and I think in football it is mainly about the short-term – especially if you are a manager.”

He added: “These players are used to being linked with all the top clubs on a daily basis.

“If they have contracts or not. If you think they’re disturbed by these interests, then I think you don’t do justice to how strong they are mentally and what they are used to. This is part of our job.”

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Meanwhile, Liverpool are being strongly linked with a move to sign Borussia Dortmund defender Nico Schlotterbeck next year.

The Reds are keen to bolster their central defensive options in 2025 and have been linked with a range of big names, including Marc Guehi and Loic Bade.

However, they are reportedly ready to make a beeline for the Germany international and are said to be ready to offer the Bundesliga giants a firm £42m (€50m) together with a massive wages offer to tempt the player to Anfield.

Another Germany defender seemingly on their radar is Bayer Leverkusen’s Jonathan Tah, who is another free agent in 2025.

However, amid claims that the Reds are sniffing around a posssible deal, we can reveal a top Italian side have accelerated their plans to try and sign the 28-year-old ahead of the Reds.

Elsewhere, former Reds midfielder Naby Keita appears to have run into a major issue with his team, Werder Bremen, after a row with his coach, who has now gone public with telling the player it might be best if he were to move on.

How do Sane and Salah compare?

With 101 career goals, Sane is quite rightly lauded as one of the best wingers in European football.

Granted, he has failed to pick up numbers as good as Salah, but the former Manchester City man is an exquisite ball carrier and dribbler, as well as displaying a key eye for a pass.

During his time at City, Sane contributed 39 goals and 43 assists from 135 appearances.

His overall records reads 455 appearances, 121 goals and 121 assists – giving the player a goal contribution every 1.88 games.