Mo Salah succession plan TAKES SHAPE as academy starlet makes his move

The future of Mohamed Salah is on everyone’s mind at the moment. The Liverpool forward can sign a pre-contract agreement with foreign clubs in just over four weeks, and an offer from the club is yet to materialise.

Salah is putting a lot of pressure on Liverpool to come to an agreement on terms that satisfy his position as one of the best players in the world, with the whole situation becoming a PR battle that the club surely won't win.

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First there was the post-match interview at Southampton, then the news that PSG were in talks with him over a move and then, most recently, it has been revealed by The Athletic that Salah would even be open to signing a one-year deal to extend his stay at the club beyond the end of this season.

It’s clear Salah is growing more and more frustrated at the lack of any concrete offer from the club, and is taking matters into his own hands to bring them to the table.

From Liverpool’s point of view, it is not as simple as just agreeing to whatever deal Salah would like. Since FSG bought the club in 2010, much of Liverpool’s success has been built on being one of the smartest operations in the country - especially when it comes to transfers and finances.

Liverpool are risk-averse when it comes to money, and agreeing to a new deal with Salah is going to be expensive no matter how long it is.

The club are having to weigh up the potential cost of getting Salah tied down to a new deal while also looking at the cost of replacing him in the long-term.

It is a difficult balancing act as if Salah does go, replacing his goals, assists and general importance to the team would be nigh-on impossible without spending record-breaking transfer fees. If he stays it only pushes the problem back until he eventually does end his time at Anfield.

However, with the latest reports stating that Salah would be open to a one-year extension, he may have handed the club a perfect succession plan going into the future.

Ben Doak is Salah's long-term successor

Ben Doak has been in brilliant form during his loan spell at Middlesborough, wowing fans with his dribbling ability and gaining valuable first-team experience at a good level.

He’s also become one of Scotland’s most-important attacking players over the course of the past few months with impressive performances against Croatia and Poland.

At 19, Doak is still developing and has lots to work on in his game, but he is showing he has the potential to eventually replace Salah on Liverpool’s right-hand side. For context, at the same age, Salah was yet to make the move from Egypt to Europe, so in a sense Doak is well ahead of schedule.

However, it’s clear that at the moment Doak is not ready to come straight into Salah’s position and deliver the kind of numbers that Arne Slot would need. It means if Salah does leave at the end of the season, they will likely look elsewhere for a replacement.

Salah reportedly prefers a three-year deal if he is to stay at Anfield, which would also provide Doak with some issues as he would be stuck behind Salah for too long and could potentially look for a move elsewhere.

In spite of this, Doak should be involved in the first-team next season, and Salah’s apparent interest in signing a one-year deal could be the perfect solution to both of their problems.

It means Salah gets to stay at Liverpool for another year to win more trophies and break more records, while Doak would not have the pressure of having to immediately replace one of the best players the club has ever seen.

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