Move over Szoboszlai & Trent: Slot has unearthed Liverpool's new Gerrard

Trent Alexander-Arnold is set to leave Liverpool when his £180k-per-week contract expires this summer.

It’s a saddening thought, but one which, without a dramatic turnaround, will end in Liverpool’s boyhood sensation closing the door on his Anfield career aged 26.

While it’s important not to begrudge the right-back his decision, it’s understandable that it will cast a bitter air of ruefulness over Merseyside, for this was the club’s next superstar, forged in the city’s very own furnaces and billed as the next Steven Gerrard.

However, Alexander-Arnold won’t reach the same incredible degree of perpetuity where Stevie G’s legacy stands.

In any case, it’s a sequence of events that reinforces the claim that the retired England international is irreplaceably at the top of Liverpool’s long list of superstars.

Why Steven Gerrard is irreplaceable

Liverpudlian Gerrard made his professional debut for Liverpool way back when, replacing Vegard Heggem during a 2-0 win over Blackburn Rovers in 1998 and going on to achieve footballing immortality at his boyhood club.

Gerrard played the lion’s share of his career at Liverpool, featuring 710 times, scoring 186 goals and providing 155 assists before reaching his twilight years as an athlete and moving to LA Galaxy over the pond, where he saw out his days on the grass.

It’s hard to imagine anyone replacing him. Alexander-Arnold might have got close, but his premature departure ends such chatter.

Another member of Arne Slot’s squad, Dominik Szoboszlai, has been noted for his stylistic similarities to the all-action midfielder, but again, in terms of legacy, it’s hard to imagine he will reach the same level.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live last season, pundit Stephen Warnock drew comparisons between the Hungarian and Liverpool’s legendary skipper: “The long legs and the stride pattern, Dominik Szoboszlai has such similarities to Steven Gerrard.”

One of the greatest captains in Premier League history, the architect of, perhaps, the greatest night in Liverpool’s history, in Istanbul, when the impossible was achieved and AC Milan’s 3-0 lead was demolished, when penalties were won, Gerrard is adored within his city.

The 44-year-old, certainly, is irreplaceable, but that’s not to say Liverpool haven’t been gifted with a new version of the all-inspiring talisman.

It would make sense, given the immutable power of Gerrard’s legacy, that this new star doesn’t ply their trade in the centre of the park, but further up the field.

Liverpool’s new version of Gerrard

Having completed 393 appearances for Liverpool, scoring 243 goals and supplying 110 assists, Mohamed Salah has established himself as one of the Reds’ greatest modern players, certainly one who was reared outside the city’s boundaries.

Aged 32, he joined from AS Roma in a deal worth £34m back in 2017 and has been an instrumental part of Jurgen Klopp’s dynasty, breaking the record for Premier League goals in a campaign during his debut term (before Erling Haaland snatched that accolade five years later) and then lifting all the biggest prizes: the Champions League, then the Premier League, then more.

Now, he’s heading toward the end of his contract, but doing so having supercharged Slot’s season to unanticipated heights, scoring 27 goals and laying on 17 assists in the top flight alone this term.

Such greatness has been felt beyond Anfield’s walls. Indeed, Salah’s startling consistency in front of goal has seen him break into the upper level of the Premier League’s scoring records, level with Sergio Aguero in fifth place.

If the Egyptian King renews his Liverpool deal for another – oh, say – two seasons, you wouldn’t bet against him superseding Harry Kane as the division’s second-best goalscorer. Alan Shearer’s record, admittedly, may be a mile too far.

He’s one of the greats, all right. Salah’s legacy is woven deep into the fabric of Liverpool’s storied years, the definitive face that everyday football fans will partner with the mention of the club, when considering the greatest hits, the biggest moments.

It’s hard to look past him as this modern, glorious version of Liverpool’s superstar above all others, in the same vein as Gerrard, while not actually performing a similar tactical role to the one-time midfield general.

This season, with such an impressive haul vis-à-vis goal involvements, you could argue that Salah has pulled Liverpool through to the finish line – we’re not there yet, but closer and closer by the match-week.

Certainly, his numbers eclipse those of his frontal teammates, all of whom have been frustrated by periods of impotence in front of goal this term.

Is it any wonder that he’s been declared as an “immense” and “world-class” player by rival pundits such as BBC Sport’s Micah Richards? Honestly, his greatness is without question.

Gerrard might be irreplaceable, but he’s sure to be glancing over his shoulder as Salah continues to go from strength to strength to strength.

All of a Liverpool persuasion will fiercely hope for news in the coming weeks that their star forward is set to pen a contract extension, but even if he doesn’t, the soon-to-be-33 Salah has devoted his prime to Merseyside, has grown alongside the club and conquered the biggest honours on show.

Gerrard is irreplaceable, but Salah has come pretty close.

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