Three Mo Salah successors named by journalist with star’s ‘endgame’ close and Anfield exit date revealed

Liverpool are open to the departure of Mo Salah before his contract expires in 2027 – while a transfer journalist has named the three quality stars who comprise Arne Slot’s shortlist of options to replace the talismanic Egyptian frontman.

The 33-year-old has carved his name in Liverpool folklore after repaying his £36.9m fee from Roma in 2017 ten times over, having won seven major honours while at Anfield and scored a colossal 248 goals in 411 appearances for the club. Having signed a new two-year deal over the summer, worth a reported £400,000 a week, Salah is the best-paid player in the Reds’ history.

However, Salah came under fire at the weekend for what many have described as his worst-ever performance in a Liverpool shirt as Slot’s side slipped to a 2-1 defeat at Chelsea, question marks over his long-term future at Anfield have now raised their head.

Having come close to leaving on several occasions in the past – links with a move to Saudi Arabia came louder than ever before in the summer just past and before signing a new deal – transfer journalist, Graeme Bailey, has now raised the possibility of the Egyptian now leaving before the expiration of his current deal.

Describing Salah as being in the ‘end game’ at Anfield, Bailey told Liverpool-centric website Rousing the Kop: “They are planning for his succession, whether it’s next year or the year after that.

“I don’t think it’s a real worry. Even if he was playing brilliantly there would be a chance of him going next summer. I don’t think it’s form-related, I think they’ll assess it.

“He’s on a two-year deal, so it’s a short-term thing anyway,” adds the reporter. “There’s never an easy or right time to move on from these world-class players.

“A sale next summer might suit all parties, even if he was the best player in the Premier League right now, I don’t think you could rule him out of leaving next summer.

“They’ve just spent the best part of £300m on Hugo Ekitike, Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak. That’s more than a quarter of a billion pounds on three forwards. We’ve started endgame for Salah, this is either the penultimate season or the last one.”

At the same time, Bailey believes Liverpool currently have a shortlist of three players who are currently under consideration as Salah’s replacement – with Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise right at the very top.

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Olise‘s form since signing for Bayern Munich have catapulted the star into the upper echelon of world-class right wingers, so it is understandable to see why the Reds would be so keen on a move.

Indeed, a daring report over the weekend revealed the Reds were willing to lodge a record-shattering bid to blow their fellow suitors out the water for the Bayern star when the time was right.

However, as Bailey reveals, he’s not the only star on Liverpool’s radar, with two PSG stars also coming under their watchful gaze.

“Olise is talking about a new deal at Bayern at the minute, I’m not sure he’s ready to leave in my opinion,” Bailey said, before adding: “He’ll be on the agenda of so many teams, just like Desire Doue and Bradley Barcola, who have both also been linked with Liverpool.

“They know who’s out there and, clearly, if and when Olise is available, it would be a surprise if they weren’t in the mix for him.”

As for Salah, we understand his exit at Anfield remains a fluid situation, with his future depending on a variety of factors, namely his form for Liverpool this season, the price he could fetch for a transfer (versus allowing him to leave for free in 2027) as well as the availability of potential successors.

If the opportunity comes to land one of them next year, it is not impossible that they will listen to offers for Salah.

However, the likelihood is that he remains at Anfield until his contract expires in June 2027, when he rides off into the sunset and one final career adventure.

But that time, he will need to have scored a fair few goals to overhaul Ian Rush’s goal record of 346 goals, with Salah currently 98 short of that tally.

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Meanwhile, Liverpool suffered a major blow in their pursuit of a Barcelona star in the summer transfer window, according to a report in the Spanish media, and with Luis Suarez getting personally involved in trying to convince him to move to Anfield.

On the outgoing front, David Ornstein has revealed the latest on Liverpool’s quest to convince Ibrahima Konate to sign a new contract and with Real Madrid’s transfer ‘suspicion’ coming to light.

Off the back of his potential exit,Liverpool have been tipped to raid Newcastle United for another of their standout stars, while their wishlist to sign a new defender has seen four new names added to it.

Salah quiz – test your knowledge on the Egyptian King’s time at Anfield