Liverpool have been warned that “Real Madrid and Barcelona will be sniffing round Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane”, with Graeme Souness fearing a repeat of the Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho sales at Anfield.
Jurgen Klopp has pieced together a star-studded squad at Merseyside – one that is good enough to challenge for the Premier League title and win the Champions League.
Key men are, however, attracting unwelcome interest from afar, with the goalscoring exploits of Salah and Mane making them obvious targets for leading sides with the deepest pockets.
Liverpool have discovered to their cost in the past that advances from La Liga can turn heads, with Suarez and Coutinho taking the decision to head for Barcelona after enhancing their respective reputations in England.
Reds legend Souness believes more tough calls could be approaching, telling the Irish Independent: “Real Madrid and Barcelona will be sniffing round Salah and Mane and I think one of them will be targeted this summer.
“Both of those clubs are in the process of rebuilding and they tend to tempt any player when they go after them.
“Liverpool are a massive football club and they have proved they are back on top after reaching the Champions League final for two years in succession, but a lot of players find it hard to say no when Real Madrid and Barcelona go after you.
“We saw that in the past with Luiz Suarez and Philippe Coutinho and even though they enjoyed playing for Liverpool, their heads were turned when Barcelona wanted them.
“That will happen again now with Salah and Mane.”
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Souness concedes that Liverpool are currently in a good place, having collected a sixth European Cup in a 2-0 victory over Tottenham, but feels potential departures are of more concern to Klopp than any more arrivals and the spending power of domestic rivals.
He added: “Liverpool are in fantastic shape for the next few years.
“You look at the goalkeeper, the back four, Joel Matip or Joe Gomez, that's a back five that can play together for eight or ten years, barring injury.
“Trent Alexander-Arnold is going to be a fantastic player, he's got a wicked right foot, Andy Robertson can be there for a long time.
“They can add to the squad they have now and improve the depth, but they have the basis of a team there that can go on for many years.
“The worry for Liverpool going forward is not Man City having all that firepower to spend but someone coming in for Salah, which I think they will do, Mane too, they will be high on the list of Real Madrid.
“Liverpool are in great shape, I wouldn't be worried about them.”
