Liverpool have ready-made Mohamed Salah successor and Arne Slot has already taken notice of him

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In recent weeks, speculation surrounding Mohamed Salah’s long-term future at Liverpool have dominated the back pages.

With his current deal set to expire at the end of the season, the Reds are no closer to tying him down to a new contract and run the risk of losing one of their greatest-ever players for free.

Barcelona want to sign Salah for free in the summer of 2025 but Liverpool are still working hard to reach an agreement with the Egyptian.

It remains to be seen how the saga pans out, but Salah isn’t going to play forever at Anfield.

And it appears as if the Reds have a young player in their ranks who could be the heir to his throne.

Liverpool loanee Ben Doak shining for club and country

Doak is currently shining for Middlesbrough in the Championship and has emerged as one of their best players.

The teenager has a goal and three assists to his name in ten appearances for the club so far and also recently featured for Scotland in their 1-0 win against Croatia.

Doak earned rave reviews for his performances and showed his class against an experienced defender like Josko Gvardiol as he helped his side to a crucial win.

The 19-year-old has the rest of his career ahead of him but is already getting regular minutes under his belt for club and country, which could prove to be invaluable.

The right-wing slot at Liverpool is obviously occupied by Salah and Federico Chiesa is also capable of playing there.

However, in the coming years, it would come as a massive surprise if Doak isn’t in contention to make that spot his own for the first team.

What has Arne Slot said about Doak?

Speaking at a press conference last month, Slot made a tongue-in-cheek comment about potentially bringing Doak back from his loan spell.

He said (quotes via LFC): “He also went to a very good manager and they have a very good playing style.

“It’s a balance we need to find: do we want to play them on a regular basis or once in a while and keep them with us where we have to be aware of our own interests?

“Like you see now, we’ve got six forwards, two of them are injured, so only four left. With the schedule we have, that’s sometimes a bit of a worry for me. Maybe we should bring Ben Doak back!”

The Liverpool boss was obviously just having a bit of fun, but he has clearly taken notice of Doak, who could save the Reds a lot of money in the future if he continues to develop in the same trajectory.

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