Arsenal legend and football pundit Martin Keown has claimed Liverpool’s Diogo Jota could replace Mo Salah after the Egyptian’s absence because of AFCON.
Mohamed Salah will not be available to Liverpool for some time. At the Africa Cup of Nations, the former Chelsea star is away representing Egypt on the international duty.
The confirmed matches that the Liverpool forward will miss are Arsenal, Bournemouth and Fulham. He could miss more matches depending on how far Egypt make it to the latter stages of the tournament.
Keown wrote in The Daily Mail: “Liverpool are in hot pursuit of four trophies. They’re top of the Premier League, through to the Europa League’s last 16 and Carabao Cup semi-finals. But the big question is, can they cope without Mohamed Salah?
“The Premier League’s most productive player with 14 goals and eight assists is now at the Africa Cup of Nations, having produced another two goals and an assist in that 4-2 victory over Newcastle on Monday.
“He’s left Liverpool at the summit. Now it is over to the new kids on the block to make sure they stay there. Diogo Jota looks the real deal when fully fit, while Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz are trying to prove worthy of replacing Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane.
“This is a massive chance for them to prove that Salah will not be missed. Scoring against Arsenal would be a perfect way to ease any fears the fans may have.”
It remains to be seen if Jota can replace Salah who has at times single-handedly carried Liverpool on his shoulders.
This season, Jota has appeared in six Premier League games as a substitute in addition to eight starts for Liverpool. In those matches, the forward has five goals and one assist.