Spanish media surprisingly claim Slot wants Chelsea flop at Liverpool as Salah replacement option

Liverpool are being linked with the most unlikely of January raids on Chelsea to sign struggling winger Mykhaylo Mudryk – with the cost of a deal and the Blues’ stance on a prospective sale also coming to light.

The Ukraine star was earning rave reviews when a transfer battle erupted between Arsenal and Chelsea for his signature in January 2023, which ultimately resulted in the Blues forking out a massive initial fee of £62m (€70m, $80m) potentially rising to £89m (€100m, $111.9m) if all add-ons and objectives are achieved. But some 19 months on from that move to Stamford Bridge, Mudryk has struggled to achieve anywhere near what was expected of him and he looks a long way short of a €100m footballer.

To date, Mudryk has only managed 13 goal contributions (seven goals and six assists) in 64 appearances for the Blues – a tally Cole Palmer is only three shy of in just eight games this season.

As a result, the 24-times capped Ukraine winger has fallen way down the pecking order under new boss Enzo Maresca, with Noni Madueke and Jadon Sancho now looking like they are established as the Italian’s first-choice wide attacking options.

However, that has not stopped reports in Spain surprisingly claiming Liverpool are looking into a cut-price move for the 23-year-old in the January window and as the Merseysiders gear up for the prospect of losing talismanic star Mo Salah as a free agent at the end of the current campaign.

And Fichajes claims a cut-price offer of just £29.3m (€35m, $39.2m) would be enough to convince the Blues to sell the player to Liverpool and accept a major £32m loss on just two years after signing him.

Having branded Mudryk as ‘Liverpool’s Plan B’ to replace Salah, they claim he is one of a number of options the Reds are considering, but a potential addition that would excite them as they look to coax out the form that originally persuaded the London side to fork out such a hefty fee to Shakhtar Donetsk in the first place.

READ MORE ➡️ SIX attackers Arne Slot could sign for Liverpool to fill potentially huge Salah void

Liverpool stance on Mudryk signing as Chelsea axe plans emerge

To that end, sources confirmed to TEAMtalk last week that Mudryk is one player Chelsea will listen to offers for when the winter window opens for business.

And with a sale or even a loan move up for discussion over the struggling winger, we understand it is not beyond the realms of possibility that Mudryk will indeed depart Stamford Bridge come January.

However, while the future of Salah remains very much up in the air, it is our understanding that Mudryk is not a player they would consider signing were they to need a top-tier successor to their talismanic Egyptian frontman.

And having already signed Federico Chiesa and having been linked to likes of Nico Williams, Leroy Sane and Florian Wirtz – albeit the latter not regarded as a direct replacement – the Reds are highly unlikely to look into a deal for Mudryk even at a hugely-reduced fee.

With Mudryk featuring in just 80 minutes of Premier League action so far this season, Maresca has had his say on the player, but has indicated his chance will come.

“Training sessions is the only way to improve players,” a diplotatic Maresca told a press conference last week.

“We try to improve them every day with some of them doing extra sessions at the end – Misha is one of them.”

“At this moment he is not playing, it doesn’t mean he’s not going to play in the future.”

Liverpool given Alexander-Arnold demand / Alisson stance on exit revealed

Liverpool are, however, open to a Premier League raid should they need to find an option to replace Salah and sources have confirmed to us that links to Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo are indeed genuine.

Much of the focus at Anfield, though, remains on keeping their current big names at the club and while there are no bigger than Salah, it is the future of homegrown star Trent Alexander-Arnold that has continued to dominate headlines recently.

Like the Egyptian, Alexander-Arnold’s current deal expires at the end of the season, with the 25-year-old very much a target of reigning European champions Real Madrid.

However, the full-back’s first priority will be on remaining at Anfield and an update on Monday claims Alexander-Arnold has informed the Reds of two demands that need to be fulfiled if he is to remain on Merseyside beyond next summer.

Meanwhile, reports over the weekend claimed Bayern Munich were looking into a surprise move to poach Alisson away from Anfield in 2025 and with the Reds having already agreed to sign his long-term successor in Giorgi Mamardashvili.

As a result, we can reveal the Brazilian’s stance on a move away from Anfield and what his feelings are over the capture of the towering Georgia international.

Mudryk stats paint sorry Chelsea picture