Rafael Leão - AC Milan
One of the proposed options is Leão, AC Milan's player and Portuguese national team member. We all know who Leão is - a good player with skills who can sometimes finish matches in his team's favor.
He has good speed but might seem like a moody player who doesn't provide consistent levels for a long period.
His price ranges between $95/98 million. He has the ability to create chances for his teammates and put them in front of the opponent's goal, but Liverpool wants a player who provides scoring contributions throughout the season and in all competitions.
During this season, Leão has played 20 matches and only scored 4 goals and made the same number of assists. Leão's most prominent season was 2022/2023 when he scored 15 goals with 8 assists.
Perhaps we can say that the situation wasn't stable in Milan with coaching changes and player quality not being at the highest level.
The question is, if Leão transfers, will he provide numbers close to Salah's? The list is big of course, but these are the most likely players to replace Salah if he leaves this summer.
Of course, they're all good players, but which of them can provide numbers that are just close to Salah's? As we've seen, these players' prices might not suit the Reds' management, but let's look at a broader perspective.
What if the Reds compromise this season on some things like renewing Salah's contract for two years and reaching a salary that suits both parties, especially Salah who has created a great legacy with Liverpool and won all titles with them.
Salah's numbers are amazing and we all know that. If Liverpool's management thinks about contracting with one of these alternatives, the alternatives will be limited, and will also cost the club's treasury huge amounts of money, and the player might need some matches to adapt with his teammates.
All this can be avoided by renewing Salah's contract and then during this period preparing a player who would be a good alternative for Liverpool, and both parties come out well.