Liverpool have reportedly earmarked an effervescent West Ham United attacker as a potential candidate to succeed Mohamed Salah.
Since making the switch to the Premier League from Ajax last summer, Ghana international Mohammed Kudus has lit up the Premier League under the tutelage of David Moyes.
The 23-year-old has already attracted the attention of top European teams at the 2022 World Cup, and he has contributed 13 goals and four assists from 40 games in a West Ham shirt this term.
Five of Kudus's efforts have come in the Europa League, a competition which West Ham and Liverpool were both eliminated from in the quarter-finals, while he has found the net seven times in the top flight.
Kudus's explosiveness down the wing has been a feature of his play this season, and he averages 3.66 successful take-ons per match, putting him in the 96th percentile for wingers in the top five European leagues.
© Reuters
Kudus emerges as option to replace Salah
The former Ajax man remains under contract at the London Stadium until 2028 with the option of a further 12 months, but West Ham are currently fighting an uphill battle to finish in the top seven of the Premier League table.
At present, Moyes's troops sit eighth in the standings with five games left to play, two points behind Newcastle United and Manchester United, both of whom have a match in hand.
Failure to make it onto the continent could see offers arrive for a handful of star names, and according to Fichajes, Liverpool have shown an interest in bringing Kudus to Anfield this summer.
The Reds are making contingency plans in the eventuality that Salah departs, and the Merseyside giants are said to be attracted to Kudus's versatility across the forward line as they ramp up their search for new wide men.
However, the report adds that Kudus is not the only player under consideration to fill Salah's boots, and there is still no indication whether the latter could head for the exit door in the near future.
Could Salah leave Liverpool this summer?
© Reuters
The end of the season will bring unprecedented uncertainty for Liverpool as they enter the post-Jurgen Klopp era, but while their manager's future is clearly defined, Salah's is less so.
The 31-year-old has just over one season left to run on his contract, leaving the Reds in that unenviable awkward position where they will surely have to consider cashing in if no agreement over a renewal is reached.
Not even a £150m bid from Saudi Pro League champions Al-Ittihad could twist Liverpool's arm last summer, but the financial powerhouses of the Middle East are sure to return with lucrative offers at the end of the season.
With Salah turning 32 in the middle of June, the Liverpool board will surely find it too difficult to rebuff big-money proposals - especially those north of £100m - even though the winger's powers have hardly waned at all.
Salah has already affirmed that Klopp's departure will have no impact on his Liverpool future, but having already won almost every trophy there is to win on Merseyside - while smashing countless records on the way - the time may be nigh for the 31-year-old to depart if negotiations over a new deal fail to bear fruit.
Ben Knapton
