Liverpool are facing a mini crisis as Sadio Mane looks to leave the club, while Mohamed Salah is also entering the final year of his contract, with little sign of an imminent agreement on the horizon.
Still, could the Reds already be planning for life after these two stars? It won’t be easy to replace two such huge figures of the Jurgen Klopp era, but the club’s record in the transfer market can perhaps inspire confidence.
For one thing, there is already Luis Diaz, who has made a great start to life at Anfield since his January move from Porto, and now further transfer rumours link some other big talents with Klopp’s side.
The Daily Mail are linking Liverpool with an interest in Bukayo Saka’s situation at Arsenal, and the exciting young England international could be the ideal long-term successor to Salah.
Like Salah, Saka is a left footed wide-forward who mainly plays on the right-hand side, and his skill, pace and goal threat could make him the perfect fit for LFC.
In a central role, where Mane played a fair few times in the season just gone, it could be that Benfica striker Darwin Nunez is emerging as a more serious target for the Merseyside giants.
Alex Crook of talkSPORT has revealed that sources have told him Liverpool look like genuine contenders for the Uruguay international, who has just enjoyed an outstanding season in the Portuguese league and the Champions League.
If Liverpool could sign both Nunez and Saka in the near future, whether that’s in one transfer window or spread over the next two or three, they could end up with a very strong-looking line up even without Salah and Mane up front…
If Diaz continues his fine form, and Saka and Nunez adjust to life at Liverpool to perform at the levels they have done in recent times, that should still be a very formidable front three.
We’re perhaps unlikely to see anything quite like Salah and Mane again for Liverpool any time soon, but these two seem like very safe bets for the Reds if they do find themselves needing to replace them in the near future.