He can "replace" Salah: Liverpool in contact over signing £50m "superstar"

After closing the 2024/25 campaign with a draw against Crystal Palace, and then lifting the Premier League trophy, Liverpool boss Arne Slot pledged to invest this summer, albeit without “radical changes”.

Such a pragmatic response is to be expected from an esteemed head coach, one whose businesslike approach has allowed him to fit right in as Jurgen Klopp’s successor on Merseyside.

However, the rumour mill is filled with reinforced claims that Liverpool are moving swiftly to conclude some (pre)summer business: Florian Wirtz is in the process of moving from Bayer Leverkusen to Anfield for a club-record fee, while Werkself teammate Jeremie Frimpong has already completed his medical.

Frimpong is being signed to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold, whose free transfer to Real Madrid is imminent, and in a way, his German peer is too, hailed as “a genius” by Xabi Alonso for his immense creative capacity.

However, the Reds are keen to make further frontal signings to help Mohamed Salah, who has dominated the awards ceremonies after his incredible year, but surely needs a bit more help if he’s to go again, aged 33, next season.

Liverpool’s frontline in 24/25

Salah finished the campaign rather timidly, with two goals and one assist from his final nine Premier League fixtures, but then so did the rest of the team, who claimed two points from 12 after the title had been sealed.

Late-season slumps make for a faulty barometer when it comes to assessing Salah’s form, predicting future success. However, the Egyptian King turns 33 in a few weeks, so concerns are understandable.

Actually, are they? Salah has just scored 34 goals across 53 matches in all competitions for Liverpool, playing 23 assists too. He has cemented his status as one of the division’s all-timers, and after penning a new contract on Merseyside, needs 29 top-flight goals from two more terms to replace Harry Kane as the Premier League’s second-highest goalscorer in history.

However, he needs support. Liverpool’s forwards have welled up like the rising tide this season, making gains, but they’ve also ebbed away, with the need for a new number nine evident given Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz’s bouts of inconsistency.

Salah doesn’t just need a striker, though; he needs more cover. The veteran superstar was backed up by the untrusted Federico Chiesa this year, who has started just once in the league.

While Wirtz will help Salah toward a new season of prolific returns, and while the addition of an out-and-out goalscorer would ease his heavy burden, some support on the right wing, to help Liverpool across numerous different tournaments, wouldn’t go amiss.

Liverpool in the race for Salah rival

According to Spanish paper AS (Wednesday edition, via Sport Witness), Liverpool are interested in signing Real Sociedad’s Takefusa Kubo, who has changed his agent ahead of the summer window after his side missed out on European qualification.

With a €60m (£50m) release clause, the winger wouldn’t come cheap, but Liverpool and Arsenal are believed to be the biggest contenders in the race for his signature after efforts from the Saudi Pro League were rebuffed.

Indeed, the Premier League duo are said to have made contact regarding the move, amid the claim that they are ‘knocking on the door’ of the in-demand talent.

The 23-year-old would play second fiddle to Salah, but with Chiesa’s future uncertain, this could be a shrewd and prudent move. Salah isn’t getting any younger, after all.

Why Liverpool should sign Takefusa Kubo

Liverpool were frustrated when trying to sign Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi last summer, and will be wary of engaging in a protracted and ultimately unsuccessful bid for another top player from the Basque Country this summer.

However, Kubo has changed his agents, and that suggests he’s open to moving this summer. Moreover, having rejected a lucrative offer from Saudi Arabia, he wants to play at the highest level.

Liverpool can offer just that, offering further enticement through the fact that Salah will be playing at AFCON next season, running from December to January.

It would certainly add some new electricity and athleticism to the right flank, especially when considering Jeremie Frimpong should be in the mix too.

As per FBref, Kubo ranks among the top 13% of attacking midfielders and wingers this term for progressive carries and the top 7% for successful take-ons per 90, very much bearing the pace of a man some ten years younger than Salah.

More to the point, former Mallorca CEO Maheta Molango has said he has “the ingredients to one day be a superstar”, with Liverpool hero Wataru Endo, Kubo’s Japanese teammate, suggesting the fleet-footed ace could succeed – or “replace” – Salah at Anfield one day.

We can’t dispute that Kubo needs to produce more in front of goal, having only scored seven goals and assisted four more across 52 matches in all competitions this season, but the underlying data suggests he’s indeed a ‘superstar’ in the making.

As per Sofascore, the diminutive winger might have scored only five times in La Liga this year, but he also squandered just two big chances, winning 5.3 duels per game, indicating a combative approach that would serve him well in the Premier League.

He averaged 1.2 shots per game. He needs to do more. But – and it’s a big but – Slot knows his stuff on the tactical front, can develop his confidence in the final third while utilising Kubo’s noteworthy physical metrics to allow him to challenge Salah for a starting berth on the right flank.

Of course, while some of Kubo’s ability would harbour reservations about joining a team like Liverpool only to play as the understudy of another, Kubo will likely recognise the benefits of learning from a master craftsman such as Salah.

He’s got work to do, but the Japan international is young and talented and would be the perfect counterpoint on the right flank, one whose potential suggests he could even replace Salah and make the position his own down the line.

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