REPORT: REDS PREPARE BID FOR SALAH REPLACEMENT

THE FELIX AND SALAH CONUNDRUM

With the summer transfer window drawing to a close, Liverpool finds themselves in a precarious situation. Their talisman, Mohamed Salah, is rumoured to be considering a move to Saudi Arabia. While it’s far from ideal for the Reds to part ways with Salah at this juncture, there’s chatter about them scouting for a potential successor should the Egyptian maestro decide to leave.

JOAO FELIX: THE NEXT ANFIELD STAR?

Recent reports from FT suggest that Liverpool has set their sights on Joao Felix of Atletico Madrid. This interest comes on the back of Liverpool’s recent sales of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho to Saudi Pro League outfits. With Salah’s potential move to Al-Ittihad, the Merseyside club seems to be bracing for a significant reshuffle.

Al-Ittihad is reportedly ready to table a staggering £100 million bid for Salah, who is approaching his 32nd birthday. This has thrust Joao Felix into the spotlight at Anfield. The young Portuguese’s future at Atletico Madrid remains uncertain, with clubs like Barcelona and Al-Hilal showing keen interest. Earlier in the month, it was reported by AS that Al-Hilal made a 15 million euro loan offer for Felix, which was promptly declined by Atletico. The Spanish side has set a price tag of 100 million euros (£85.8 million) for Felix, who is contracted with them till 2027.

FELIX’S TRACK RECORD

Despite the buzz around him, Felix has been on the sidelines for Atletico this season. During his loan spell at Chelsea in the previous season, he managed to net 4 goals in 11 Premier League appearances. Aged 23, Felix is versatile, capable of playing on either wing, though he seems most comfortable in the No.10 role, just behind the striker. However, comparing him to Salah might be a stretch. While he doesn’t possess Salah’s blistering pace or consistent goal-scoring prowess, only time will tell if he can fill the void at Anfield.

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‘HE CALMED US’: ANDY ROBERTSON HAILS ‘OUTSTANDING’ LIVERPOOL DEFENDER AFTER WIN AT NEWCASTLE

Andy Robertson has hailed Liverpool defender Joe Gomez for his performance during his side’s stunning 2-1 win at Newcastle United on Sunday at St James’ Park.

It’s never easy for a defender to come on, away from home, when your team is losing, so it’s probably even more difficult when your side is down to ten men, but that’s the situation Joe Gomez faced.

After Liverpool conceded an opening goal to Anthony Gordon, their captain was shown a straight red card for bringing down Alexander Isak, with Jurgen Klopp opting to take Luis Diaz off for Gomez to try and counter his team being down to ten.

Andy Robertson had a first-hand view of it all and he stated that when Gomez came onto the pitch, he ‘calmed us down’ and he was ‘absolutely outstanding’, as he told Premier League Productions (27/08/23 at 6:40 pm).

It needs to be noted that the 26-year-old isn’t a first-choice centre-back these days, not even a first-choice change, because it was Joel Matip who replaced the injured Ibrahima Konate today.

Despite all of that, the England defender has enough experience in his legs and he proved it by putting up a performance that left his teammate mightily impressed.

“I thought Joey was absoutley outstanding,” said Robertson. “I thought he came on, in a difficult moment, we are 1-0 down, we just went down to ten men, the crowd are up and it’s only looking like it’s going one way.

“But Joey calmed us down, if I am honest. He started getting his foot on the ball. Started playing his passes. I thought he was tremendous. I thought he was exceptional 60-70 minutes, for however long he played.”

This was the Liverpool of old

In years gone by, you wouldn’t have been surprised if Liverpool pulled off such a win, against such a team, in a hostile environment.

But given how this current side has been performing during the last 12 months, added to Newcastle’s own rise, then this performance might have even surprised their own fans.

Either way, it’s a deserved win and perhaps a much-needed boost for a team whose fans aren’t exactly overjoyed with the transfer business they are conducting this summer.