There is an obvious Mohamed Salah replacement for Liverpool this summer, and his agent has close ties with Ruben Amorim.
Michael Edwards’ decision to return to FSG as the club’s new head of operations might have changed Mohamed Salah’s situation at Liverpool.
The Egyptian has been breaking records in the Premier League this season and reaching new heights. However, recently he has come under criticism.
Liverpool must also assess the reality of his situation. Salah turns 32-years-old this summer. He will have just one year left on his contract.
It is not clear that with Edwards now at the helm, the club would be open to offering Salah an extension.
Edwards is a shrewd operator and someone who has in the past seemed reluctant to give long-term extensions to older players. That is why the likes of Georginio Wijnaldum left Anfield for pastures new.
Given Edwards’ track record at Liverpool, at this stage, a potential departure for Salah cannot be ruled out either. Especially, with Saudi Arabian clubs keen on his signature.
Why Viktor Gyokeres could be the perfect replacement for Mohamed Salah at Liverpool
Replacing Salah this summer would not be an easy task for Liverpool. However, if there is one player who could do it it’s Viktor Gyokeres.
What Liverpool are missing at the moment is a clinical finisher in attack. Even Salah himself is a player who scores a lot of goals but doesn’t always put all his chances away.
In order to evolve this Liverpool team and replace Salah’s goals in the team, it would make sense for Liverpool to move to sign Gyokeres.
The Swedish forward, who is of Hungarian descent, has 52 goal contributions in 43 matches for Sporting CP this season.
According to Wyscout, he also has an impressive goal conversion rate of 26.19%. This makes him a better finisher this season than Erling Haaland (21.5%) and Ollie Watkins (21.8%).
With Gyokeres coming into the side, Harvey Elliott could move to the right-wing. Meanwhile, Darwin Nunez could be shifted to the left-wing role, where he could still cause a lot of damage, and where there will not be as much pressure on him to score.
The Swedish striker simply makes sense for Liverpool. Especially, if Ruben Amorim is manager.
What Viktor Gyokeres’ agent has said about Ruben Amorim
It’s well documented that Amorim is the favourite to succeed Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool. The Portuguese manager has been the one who has brought out the best in Gyokeres this season and the pair have a good relationship.
If Amorim comes to Anfield, this would also make Gyokeres the most obvious candidate to fill Salah’s boots.
Gyokeres’ agent Hssan Centikaya also has a very good relationship with Amorim and has spoken very highly of him. One of his clients in Victor Lindelof actually played alongside Amorim at Benfica as well.
Meanwhile, in a recent interview Centikaya admitted Amorim was a big reason why Gyokeres moved to Sporting CP last summer, and that if he leaves, his client could follow suit.
“I’m not surprised that Ruben is being linked to Liverpool,” Cetinkaya told Record. “It’s normal, his work is of a high level and is what clubs are looking for.
“It will be more difficult for Viktor to stay if Ruben Amorim leaves Sporting, because Viktor came precisely because of Ruben. The day we met, I said to Ruben, ‘Here is my boy, he came to Sporting because of you’.
“Obviously, I will have to talk to the president, the president is the boss, the one who makes the decisions, and we will have to know what he thinks for the future and what Sporting’s project is, but Viktor also has a say, obviously, and if Ruben Amorim leaves, it will be more difficult to continue.”