Liverpool have TOLD Arne Slot to make this striker his new Mo Salah

Back in 2017 Liverpool were in the market for a new wide forward. Then-manager Jurgen Klopp had his heart set on Julian Brandt of Bayer Leverkusen but was eventually persuaded to go in another direction.

On the advice of Liverpool’s recruitment team, led by Ian Graham and sporting director Michael Edwards, Klopp agreed to acquire the services of a certain Mohamed Salah. The Roma forward had already failed once in the Premier League - with Chelsea - and was available for around £37 million.

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Salah was signed despite his indifferent Chelsea background and hit the ground running immediately; he hasn’t looked back, winning the Champions League, Premier League, FIFA Club World Cup, FA Cup and a host of other honours along the way.

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If he signs a new contract then it is not beyond the question that Salah will become the all-time Liverpool top goalscorer as well as the best goalscorer in Premier League history.

The best signing Liverpool ever made? He is certainly up there. And Liverpool’s recruitment department should get the credit.

However, had Klopp not been so receptive to signing a player initially recommended to him by the recruitment staff then Liverpool’s last decade or so might have worked out very differently.

Liverpool scouts like Ekitike

That’s why it’s important for Arne Slot to pay attention to what the recruitment staff are telling him - even more so because the influential Edwards is back under the FSG umbrella.

Liverpool are looking for a new striker this summer and one player has now been confirmed as a target for Liverpool’s scouts. Hugo Ekitike, 22, has scored 19 goals and added eight assists in 38 games for Eintracht Frankfurt this season.

The Frenchman also netted a hat-trick in a recent under-21 international against England, putting an exclamation point on his emerging talents.

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“Liverpool’s scouts are monitoring him closely and have been for some time,” writes Lewis Steele in the Daily Mail.

Like Salah, Ekitike has already had one chance at a big club - signing for Paris Saint-Germain in 2022 when Liverpool were also in pursuit.

And, like Salah at Chelsea, it didn’t work out there for the 6’3 frontman but he has since realigned his career to devastating effect in the Bundesliga.

Under contract until 2029, Ekitike could well be available for around €80m (£67m) this summer.

That is a hefty fee but given the recruitment staff were also insistent on signing Roberto Firmino back in 2015, Arne Slot would be well-advised to trust their judgement.

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No one is saying Ekitike will turn out exactly like Salah and Firmino but the recruitment team have certainly shown they have an eye for a striker. Let’s hope Slot listens.