‘Liverpool have probably eyed up the next Mo Salah’ – Emile Heskey explains why £150m transfer to Saudi Arabia appears inevitable & how that money will be spent

The Reds were able to fend off interest shown in the Egyptian superstar from Al-Ittihad towards the end of the summer window, but the Saudi Arabian outfit remain keen and are expected to rekindle their interest at some stage in 2024.

Former Reds striker Heskey – speaking on behalf of Betting Sites – told GOAL when asked if the chances of Salah seeing out his contract are now less than 50-50: “Probably! They are not going to go away. He is the biggest Muslim football player in the world. The biggest win for them would be to get the biggest Muslim football player in the world. They are trying to take over all sports – boxing goes there, the Formula One, UFC. Football is arguably one of the biggest in the world, and Salah one of the biggest Muslim stars, so I wasn’t surprised that they went after him. It was a huge offer and I expect them to keep coming and keep raising that bar. It’s not just for the duration of his contract, they are probably looking for him to be an ambassador for them for life. I don’t see them going away.”

Salah will turn 32 next summer, while entering the final year of a deal at Anfield that is due to expire in 2025, and Heskey said when asked if £100m ($124m) could be enough to do a deal at that stage: “I think they will still stick to the 150 ($186m). I think that will be sat there. I don’t think it will be done in January, I don’t think Liverpool will want to disrupt and disturb what they have at this moment in time – they are pushing up there towards the top of the table. I don’t think they will disturb that, but I think they will push again – 100 percent because they will want Mo Salah.”

If Liverpool were to raise big money for Salah, would they then look to bring in a ready-made superstar as his replacement – given how valuable that he has been to the cause down the years? Heskey responded to that poser by saying: “Very good question. I don’t think it’s in Liverpool’s ethos to do that. When it comes to their recruitment, I don’t think that is how they see things – they look at the full package and potential going forward. I don’t know if Jurgen would want to go and get a superstar with all of the stuff that comes with it. Would he really want to do that? I don’t think he would. They have probably already eyed up who could be the next Mo Salah."

Darwin Nunez is among the attacking options currently available to Klopp, but remains a work in progress on the back of his £64m ($79m) move to England in 2022. Heskey said when asked if the Uruguayan has the potential to be a leading No.9: “He’s still got potential. I see him playing better on the left wing – get the ball to him and let him face forward, turn and then go and attack. I think he plays better that way than sometimes with his back to goal. You learn a lot – especially people from other leagues – in the English league. Defenders are good and can be rough, so you have to earn the right to play and then you’ve got to figure out how to work the space. It’s easier playing on the wing because you are getting space anyway to drive, whereas when you are playing up front it can be congested, with one or two touches, and you have to understand how to create space. He might be finding it difficult in that sense. On the wing, I’ve seen him drive past players and been like ‘wow’. There are options for Liverpool to play him on the left, Gakpo in the middle.

Netherlands international Gakpo would appear to be a more natural fit for Liverpool in the centre of their attacking unit, with the Dutch forward cut from similar cloth to Roberto Firmino. Heskey added when asked if the versatile 24-year-old could be the man to fill the boots of a departed Brazilian cult hero: “He’s a bit more comfortable with his back to goal and feels like he can manoeuvre the ball a little bit and understand his body strength a little bit more than Nunez.”