When the summer transfer market opened, Mo Salah attracted significant attention from Saudi Arabia, and a former Red has already identified the ideal replacement should he decide to leave Anfield.
If Mo Salah leaves Anfield, Liverpool has been advised to recruit Khvicha Kvaratskhelia from Napoli.
Over the past year, there has been considerable talk about the Egyptian forward leaving the team. He was wanted by Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad in the summer, but Liverpool turned down many of their offers.
The speculation around a departure has not stopped, as former Reds star Stephen Warnock has stated that Kvaratskhelia may make a great replacement in the event that Salah is traded. He stated the following to talkSPORT: “Everyone’s replaceable. I’ve said it about Suarez, I’ve said it about Coutinho, and he [Salah] will be replaceable in time.
“I think the big problem is with Salah if you get a £175million offer from Saudi Arabia that’s difficult to say no to. I wouldn’t sell him in January but maybe next season, but only if you’ve got someone else lined up.
“You’d have to have someone exciting lined up, the one player that springs to mind is Kvaratskhelia. He’s the one player you look at where you think he’s young and has potential and can play, but he’s a left-sided player, could he play on the right?”
In any case, a purchase of Kvaratskhelia won’t be inexpensive. The representative for the Georgian winger estimated the value of any transfer at about €100 million (£87 million) in November.
It’s likely that the cost has gone up since. The 22-year-old helped Napoli win Serie A and get to the quarterfinals of the Champions League last season with 14 goals and 17 assists.
Last season, he really faced Liverpool in the competition, and Jurgen Klopp expressed his appreciation for the forward. German speaker: “He is a good player, both are good players. It was a really difficult one. I know people will talk about one or two situations with Trent [Alexander-Arnold] when he tried to get in front of him and the ball goes through.
“He is really good, the boy. Really quick, we have to defend it well together in these moments. When he has the advantage of the first moment, then he is already gone.
“You have to try to be there in the moment when the ball arrives. If you cannot to do that, you need to be protected because he has speed. He is cheeky, he can go inside, he goes outside, that always makes him difficult. A good player.”
Kvaratskhelia has continued his stellar play so far this season, tallying one goal and four assists. His contract at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona has four more years to remain.
Salah, who could succeed him, is currently enjoying another strong campaign. In all competitions, the 31-year-old has six goals and four assists as of the international matches in October.