Winger wants to REPLACE Salah at Liverpool

Liverpool got an up close and personal look at one player deemed to be a potential Mohamed Salah successor this week.

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With the Egyptian King out of contract at the end of the season there are several candidates in the frame to become the Reds’ next right winger.

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One of those linked over the past few transfer windows has been the PSV attacker Johan Bakayoko.

The 21-year-old Belgium international has established himself as an Eredivisie star over the past couple of seasons and took his place in the lineup for the recent Champions League game against Liverpool.

PSV won 3-2 on the night at the Philips Stadion with Bakayoko among the goalscorers. In the league he’s got six goals and one assist across 17 Dutch top-flight matches this term.

With a contract ONLY extending to the middle of 2026, this summer could represent the ideal chance for the Reds to strike an opportunistic deal with their Dutch counterparts.

Bakayoko took the opportunity this week to remind Liverpool that he was willing to move to Anfield and take Salah’s place.

Bakayoko 'nowhere near' Gakpo

Anfield Watch spoke to top Dutch expert Daniel Cabot Kerkdijk from Football Transfers about whether or not Bakayoko can make the grade under Arne Slot on Merseyside.

“Bakayoko is young, talented, super fast and is still quite affordable. But to say, especially this season, whether he is good enough for Liverpool…

“He was at the top of every important statistical list last season. Dribbling actions, progressive passes and so on.

“No winger was involved in more Eredivisie goals last season as a scorer or shooter. But this season, Bakayoko is quite disappointing in numbers.

“He almost constantly has to deal with double coverage on the flank every match. The success rate of his dribbling actions has therefore decreased significantly this season.

“But Liverpool is of course a team that is super dangerous in transition, while PSV often plays in the opponent's half.

“Furthermore, his explosiveness has also decreased, maybe because he plays many more minutes than, say, in 2023.

“In short, in a few years he can certainly be a starter for Liverpool, but he is nowhere near as far along as Gakpo was when he went to Liverpool.

“Now he would be a good reinforcement for at least the bench, and for money that is easy for Premier League clubs to cough up.”

So if Liverpool ARE to go for Bakayoko he would require a couple of seasons at least as backup to either Salah - if he stays - or another star name who is brought in to replace him.

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No doubt Richard Hughes will have his eye on the situation and hope to strike a similar deal to the one that brought Federico Chiesa to the club last year.

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