Raphinha should be Mohamed Salah’s replacement at Liverpool – RTK View

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Liverpool won’t find a better replacement than Raphinha if Mohamed Salah was to leave in the transfer window. The Brazilian should be priority one.

It’s not exactly a secret that Mohamed Salah has an unclear future with Liverpool right now. In fact, the Egyptian outright discussed it with GQ magazine last month.

His position is clear – Salah wants to remain with Liverpool but it’s not in his hands. He’s relying on the club to meet his demands and, thus far, they’ve been unable to. It doesn’t mean he’s leaving but as things stand Liverpool will be under immense pressure to sell in the summer transfer window.

Salah’s current deal expires in 2023, after all. The summer will be Liverpool’s final chance to get any kind of money for him if he is to leave the club. Thus we really could see the 29-year-old depart and the Reds search for a replacement.

It’s a scenario we hope doesn’t come about, certainly. If it does, however, we do think there’s an obvious target to replace Salah at Liverpool – Raphinha.

Liverpool should target Raphinha

Replacing Salah is tough because things definitely move backwards. He’s the best right-winger on the planet and Liverpool can’t possibly sign someone who matches what he brings.

At the same time, they need a player in their peak right now in order to take advantage of the other players in the squad. This is a squad where most of the starts are leaving their best years and the time to win is right now. Bringing in a stop-gap or a young player just isn’t as practical and could waste the final elite years of this squad.

But Liverpool also need room for growth – they’ll want to mould whoever it is into the star they need. And that’s why we think Raphinha is ideal for Liverpool.

He’s enjoying a fantastic season with Leeds United, scoring goals and creating chances galore for teammates. The Brazilian is doing it all from that right wing, too, and looks like an elite player at the moment.

Just last month, Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson labelled Raphinha ‘different class’ with what he’s doing for Leeds.

“This lad is different class,” he told Sky Sports News (2:41pm, January 22, 2022). “I think he could play for anybody, works hard, and he has got talent in abundance. He is a proper, proper footballer.”

On top of that, Raphinha has only just turned 25 and there’s a sense that he can still kick on another level in the right environment. Liverpool are absolutely fantastic at providing that environment to players – and we’re sure they could do the same with Raphinha.

Now, we know Liverpool like the player. His agent, Deco, admitted as much late last year, saying Leeds simply didn’t want to sell. We’re sure the Reds will want to see a couple more things before going all-out for him but Raphinha would be as good a Salah replacement as they’re going to find.