Liverpool links with mammoth move to sign Prem star rated by Romano as Salah successor talk heats up

Fresh claims that Liverpool will target a move for West Ham star Mohammed Kudus as a potential replacement for Mo Salah have quickly forced a reaction from Fabrizio Romano amid claims the Egyptian has emerged as a target for a new MLS franchise.

The talismanic Liverpool star now has just over nine months remaining on his contract at Anfield and will be eligible to sign a pre-contract agreement with overseas suitors from January 1 – just 81 days from now. And while the Reds still hope to tie down Salah to fresh terms, a the fact their fifth all-time top scorer could depart as a free agent in a matter of months will be a cause of real concern at Anfield.

Salah has finished as the top scorer in each of his seven full seasons at Anfield to date and has already underlined his importance to the side this season with a hugely impressive 11-goal contributions (six goals, five assists) from 10 appearances this term.

As a result, it’s little surprise the Reds are being linked with potential replacements for the 32-year-old, who is the club’s top earner on £350,000 a week.

One of those whose name has been thrust back into the spotlight in recent days is West Ham star Kudus, who has caught the eye since moving to the Premier League from Ajax in the summer of 2023.

Romano, though, insists it is too soon to discuss Kudus as a possible successor to Salah.

“…With Kudus and Liverpool there is currently nothing concrete to report,” Romano told Caught Offside. “There will be 100 links per day on Liverpool with Salah out of contract but Liverpool are not in discussions or planning any move yet.

“It is just a moment where they explore the market and still talk to Salah about the contract. So nothing really concrete on Kudus now, it’s not an October/November topic for sure.”

READ MORE: Mo Salah replacement: SEVEN top-class attackers Liverpool could sign as contract D-Day looms

What has been said about Salah contract amid links to new MLS franchise?

However, any move for the Hammers star would not come cheap. The Ghana international has a sizeable £85m clause in his deal and West Ham would have no hesitation in holding his suitors to that price were they to come knocking.

As for Salah, interest in his services has been well documented in Saudi Arabia amid links to Al-Ittihad. But in recent days Salah has also been linked with a move to the United States, with new MLS franchise San Diego FC are pushing for his signing. Those claims are strengthened by the fact that they are owned by British-born Egyptian billionaire Sir Mohamed Mansour.

Fears Salah will depart have also been fuelled by our sources, who revealed earlier last month that Liverpool do indeed ‘expect’ Salah to leave after their latest round of contract talks failed to see an agreement reached.

Despite that, TNT Sport pundit Owen Hargreaves is adamant Salah will stay.

“I can’t see him going to play in an inferior league,” TNT Sports pundit Hargreaves exclusively told TEAMtalk.

“He understands that if he leaves on a free transfer he has all the cards, in his favour, especially when he is playing the way he is. And he still has so much to offer.”

“I think he can play until his late 30s. I just want to see him playing at the top. He is too good a player to just go and play somewhere like that [Saudi].

“If he wants to do something different, you have to respect that, but you just think he could stay another two or three years and he could break all the goal-scoring records at Liverpool. He is already one of the great, but then he would put himself in the conversation for the best Liverpool player of all time.

“I look at what he has achieved and I just think he wants more. I can’t see him leaving yet.”

Latest Liverpool transfer news

Meanwhile, Liverpool could get the opportunity to cash in on Wataru Endo in the January window with four teams – Inter Milan and three from the Premier League – all expressing their interest in the Japan star.

The 32-year-old was a regular under Jurgen Klopp last season but has been reduced to a bit-part player this season thanks to the fantastic form of Ryan Gravenberch.

Elsewhere, rumours in Germany state former Reds defender Joel Matip will elect to retire rather than sign with a new club. Matip left Liverpool upon the expiry of his contract on June 30 and has thus far remained unattached.

And finally, the Reds are being linked with a huge move to reunite Arne Slot with a former Feyenoord midfielder pulling up fantastic numbers in Portugal with Benfica, though any deal would not come cheap.

How does Kudus compare to Salah since Ghananian moved to England?

Kudus may be viewed by some as a perfect heir to Salah but really a look at the figures of both players since the Ghanaian moved to the Premier League illustrates just how good a level the Egyptian is still performing at.

And the Liverpool man leads the Hammers star across pretty much every metric going, including the most important ones of all – goals and assists.

Tellingly, both men have made exactly 54 appearances to now too, with Salah (six goals and five assists) in red-hot form this season, but with Kudus (one goal and one assist) yet to find any sort of consistency so far.