Mohamed Salah most at risk if Liverpool signed Kylian Mbappe – Charlie Adam
Charlie Adam believes Mohamed Salah would be the man to make way if Liverpool ever secure the signing of Kylian Mbappe.
The French sensation has been linked with a move to Liverpool since his Monaco days as his days at PSG appear to be numbered.
Mbappe on the move? Five things to know…
- Mbappe moved to PSG permanently in 2018 for £166 million.
- Since then, he’s won the World Cup with France and scored 82 goals in 113 games for the French champions.
- However, his time there hasn’t been smooth.
- He and Neymar are both vying for the title of ‘main man’ at the club.
- The 21-year-old said in May that he may be open to “a new project”.
Despite the undeniable success of PSG domestically, their shortcomings on the European stage have led some to suggest Mbappe could look to move elsewhere in the near future.
In a recent interview with the BBC, the forward described Liverpool as “a machine” with “a very good manager” in Jurgen Klopp. This clear expression of admiration fuelled existing speculation Mbappe could make the move across the channel to Merseyside – despite obvious interest from Real Madrid and a David Ornstein report claiming Liverpool’s transfer strategy is to buy (relatively) low and develop rising talents, as opposed to spending big on global stars.
Given the kind of fee an Mbappe transfer would command, there is no doubting he would start in the Liverpool side, but who he would replace is a separate issue.
Each of Liverpool’s front three have continued to excel this season, scoring 41 goals between them as the Reds storm towards their first-ever Premier League title.
Despite Salah scoring more goals than any of his teammates, Charlie Adam, formerly of Liverpool and Blackpool, believes he would be the one to make way should Mbappe come to Anfield.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, he said: “I think it would be very difficult for where he [Mbappe] plays.
“I think [Roberto] Firmino is a massive link to how Liverpool play and what they try to do.
“Salah and [Sadio] Mane, since they’ve come in the door have been sensational.
“I’d get rid of Salah, I’d go for Salah. [Mbappe’s] the next big football star. He knows that himself, he said that in an interview not long ago didn’t he – ‘I know I’m a superstar’.
“You’d have to go for Salah, but it depends on where he’d play. If I’m going to be spending £150m-£200m on Mbappe, he’ll be playing every week.”
Subscribe to Squawka’s Youtube channel here.
“Where else would he go?”
Let’s be honest: Liverpool are the best team in the world right now.
They won the Champions League last season and are 22 points clear at the top of the league this season, having won all bar one of their games. Of the last 102 Premier League points available to them, they’ve won 100.
The thought of going to Liverpool must be an attractive one for Mbappe, who is used to domestic domination but would love to add some European silverware to his already glittering collection.
In the same show in which Adam gave the comments above, Ian Wright agreed, saying: “If I’m Mbappe, I probably am looking at Liverpool. Where else would you want to go? Mbappe fits anywhere.”
Is Salah under-appreciated?
- It may seem bizarre to suggest one of the Premier League’s most high-profile players isn’t getting enough love…
- …but Adam isn’t alone in his opinion of Salah as more dispensible than other Liverpool attackers.
- Jamie Redknapp wrote earlier this season that Salah has fallen below Sadio Mane in the pecking order.
- Despite this, only three goals separate Salah’s top-flight total this season and the top of the Premier League 2019/20 Golden Boot standings.
- Should he close the gap and stay there, Salah will join Thierry Henry and Alan Shearer as one of only three players to win three consecutive Golden Boot awards in the competition’s history.
