Liverpool have reportedly earmarked one of Real Madrid's Brazilian attacking stars as a potential successor to Mohamed Salah amid increasing uncertainty over the Egyptian's future.
It is no secret that the former Chelsea and Roma man is out of contract in the summer of 2025, and he sent tongues wagging with his comments after the Reds' 3-0 win over Manchester United a few weekends ago.
Salah admitted that he was preparing for the 2024-25 campaign to be his last in a Liverpool shirt, although his bombshell comments were interpreted in a couple of different ways.
The 32-year-old confirmed that no talks had taken place over a renewal, leading some to believe that his admission was more a call to the Liverpool board to open talks rather than an indication that he wants to leave.
Nevertheless, there has still been no significant movement between Salah's camp and Liverpool, and he could enter pre-contract talks with foreign clubs in January if there is no change to his situation in the coming months.
Liverpool 'want Rodrygo' as Salah replacement
© Imago
As the Reds hierarchy prepare for the possibility of the Egyptian's exit, Fichajes claims that Liverpool have earmarked Real Madrid attacker Rodrygo as the man to potentially fill Salah's boots from 2025 onwards.
The 23-year-old has risen to prominence under Carlo Ancelotti over the past few seasons and has also enjoyed a positive start to 2024-25, scoring three goals and setting up two more in nine matches across all tournaments.
Rodrygo's long-term future has been called into question for a few months now, though, and there were rumours over the summer that the arrivals of Kylian Mbappe and Endrick had led to discontent among Real's existing attackers.
Such claims have been denied by Jude Bellingham, and Rodrygo remains under contract at Real Madrid for another four years, having signed an extension last November with a €1bn (£835m) release clause.
However, the Champions League and La Liga holders would apparently not be averse to letting Rodrygo leave for a reasonable fee this summer, and Liverpool are willing to pay €100m (£83.5m) to bring him to Anfield.
© Imago
Real Madrid are supposedly anticipating 'a big bid' from the Anfield offices for Rodrygo, who could be swayed to try his hand at Premier League football if he is convinced by Liverpool's sporting project.
The Brazil international joined Los Blancos as an 18-year-old from Santos in 2019, and he has now amassed 57 goals and 43 assists in 225 matches for Ancelotti's side, winning two Champions Leagues and three La Liga titles.
Could Salah really leave Liverpool in 2025?
While Salah's contract admission naturally sparked major concern among the Liverpool fanbase, the 32-year-old is said to be keen to continue on Merseyside for a little while longer and still feels that he has a lot to offer in Europe.
Talks between Salah's camp and Liverpool are expected to commence in the not-so-distant future, although sporting director Richard Hughes also has his hands full with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk's expiring deals.
Amid the growing uncertainty, Salah's agent recently posted a cryptic and explosive statement on social media regarding his client's future.
