There are plenty of things up in the air with Liverpool Football Club ahead of the 2024/25 season. Manager Jurgen Klopp is set to leave the club, and they are yet to find a replacement, although Sporting manager Ruben Amorim is the man linked with the role.
Of course, this throws into question the number of new signings whom Amorim or any other candidates would both want and need to tailor the squad to their style of play.
The future of key player Mohamed Salah is not 100% certain yet, either. Whilst fans will surely hope their talisman stays another year at Anfield, there are strong rumours that the Egyptian could follow suit with Klopp and depart the club at the end of the season.
If the Premier League legend does leave Liverpool next summer, it of course means the Reds will need a replacement, and it would likely have to be a marquee player to fill the very big void left by Salah in his potential departure.
Liverpool eyeing dream Salah replacement
According to reports in Spain, via Football Transfers, the man linked with a move to Anfield in the event of Salah’s departure is one of the world’s deadliest wingers, Vinicius Junior.
The Real Madrid man is said to be of major interest to Liverpool when Kylian Mbappe inevitably joins Los Blancos this summer, thus becoming their key man ahead of Vini.
The fee quoted to Liverpool is huge and would be both a club record and a Premier League record. Darwin Nunez’s £85m move to Liverpool from Benfica in 2022 is the current Liverpool record, with Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo the Premier League’s record transfer, when he cost the Blues £115m last summer from Brighton.
Liverpool would need to pay a huge £171m fee to Real Madrid should they wish to acquire the services of Vini ahead of next season, but they might recoup a lot of that from the sale of Salah.
According to reports, Saudi club Al Ittihad made a bid of at least £80m for the Egypt captain last summer and could make a similar offer this time around.
How Vinicius and Salah compare
There is no doubt Vini is one of the best players in the world, a sentiment which Sadio Mane agrees with. The former Liverpool man even believes Vini is one day capable of winning a Ballon d’Or.
The Brazilian has scored 18 goals and registered eight assists for Real Madrid this season in all competitions. Salah, however, has outdone him in terms of goal involvements. The 31-year-old has netted 23 goals and has 13 assists to his name, a remarkable return.
The pair are not very similar players stylistically. Vini is a superb ball carrier, using his pace to get in behind opposition defences and driving at defenders in one-on-one scenarios. In contrast, Salah is less of an explosive dribbler, thriving more in combination play and operating mainly in the final third.
The numbers suggest this estimation is correct. According to Fbref, Vini is one of the world’s best dribblers. Per 90 minutes, he averages 6.31 progressive carries which places him in the top 3% of positionally similar players in Europe, 4.41 carries into the penalty area, which puts him in the top 1% and 3.44 carries into the final third, which ranks him in the top 12%.
In comparison per 90 minutes, Salah completes 3.85 progressive carries, placing him in the 59th percentile, 2.26 carries into the final third, which puts him in the 51st percentile, and 2.65 carries into the penalty box, which ranks him in the best 8%, according to Fbref. The difference between each player with the ball at their feet is clear to see.
Where Salah excels over Vini is with his progressive passing. As per Fbref, the Eygpt international sits inside the best 4% of wingers for passes into the penalty area, with 2.6 per 90 minutes, and in the 81st percentile for progressive passes, with 5.47 per 90 minutes.
In comparison, Vini makes 1.09 passes into the penalty area per 90 minutes, ranking him in the 25th percentile, and 2.67 progressive passes per 90 minutes, placing the Brazilian in the 80th percentile. The comparison is stark.
There is no doubt that, whilst different, both players are elite wingers. Should Liverpool move for Vini in the event of Salah’s departure, it would be interesting to see how he fits in, given he is a better dribbler than Salah, but less creative in the final third.
Should the Reds sign the Madrid superstar, they will certainly be bringing in one of the best players in the world. It would be exciting to see such a talented player in the Premier League, and fascinating to how he would fill the boots of Salah.