As the Mohamed Salah era at Anfield reaches its final chapters, the search for a worthy successor has moved from idle speculation to an urgent priority. Former Reds midfielder Jason McAteer has now weighed in on the debate, identifying the “ideal” candidate capable of filling the void left by Liverpool’s departing Egyptian King.
With a clinical strike to open the scoring in the Merseyside Derby, Mohamed Salah once again proved why he is etched into Liverpool’s history as a modern-day icon.
After a breathless, frantic opening at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, the Egyptian remained the coolest man in the building, calmly slotting home to break Everton hearts and spark absolute pandemonium in the away end.
Amazingly, this coolly taken effort was his ninth goal overall against Everton across his glittering Reds career, with his overall goal tally for Arne Slot‘s men now standing at 257.
There is a growing, anxious hope that his strike against David Moyes’ side won’t be his final act in a Liverpool shirt. However, that optimism is currently clouded by the sight of the prolific attacker limping off against Crystal Palace, his afternoon cut short by a worrying hamstring injury.
Slot, in his post-match press conference, offered very little in the way of clear answers surrounding his star man’s injury status, stating that Liverpool fans will need to “wait and see” if he can feature in May.
This would be a sad and abrupt ending to the 33-year-old’s decorated stay at Anfield, if he is ruled out for the rest of the season.
Liverpool does need to prepare for a reality without Salah, though, and former Reds midfielder Jason McAteer believes Slot has a superstar talent already in his camp that can fill the void left behind the two-time Premier League champion.
The superstar tipped to replace Salah
Liverpool will no doubt be busy in the summer transfer market ahead, as they try to hunt down a flashy Salah replacement.
Indeed, it has long been speculated that the reigning Premier League champions have RB Leipzig trickster Yan Diomande on their radar as more cash is lavishly splashed at Anfield.
Yet, the big bucks might not be required when attempting to replace Salah’s firepower, with McAteer a firm believer that Alexander Isak can finally step up and produce his Newcastle United magic when the inevitable occurs with the ageing attacker.
Isak picked up his third Premier League goal of the season for the Reds at the weekend, during what has been a debut campaign horribly disrupted by injuries, with the Swede instinctively smashing home Liverpool’s first goal of the day in the 3-1 victory over Crystal Palace.
He will need to start living up to his £125m price tag, as he can’t fall back on his unlucky injury record forever, and McAteer believes the pricey striker can become Liverpool’s new poster boy in a post-Salah reality.
Speaking on The Reaction from The Official Liverpool FC Podcast, the Irishman boldly stated: “I’d like him to be like ‘I’m here. I’m walking into the room, and I’m here!
“But if that’s not him, he’s going to have to find a different way to get himself into the arena and show everyone that he’s the centre-forward.
“Mo Salah’s leaving now, a superstar’s left the club. That’s vacating a big space at this football club because we’ve always had a superstar.
“You look at Kenny [Dalglish], Robbie [Fowler], Michael Owen took that for a little bit then it’s [Fernando] Torres, [Luis] Suarez, we’ve always had that superstar and Mo Salah’s been it for the last seven years.
“There is a space for that, we do need that player, it’s great for the club, great for everything around the business of the club, why not Isak?”
This is a lot of pressure for Isak to hold on his shoulders, but he cost a substantial £125m – which is a club-record fee – so he must start living up to his extravagant billing soon, and based on his blistering Premier League numbers at Newcastle, he could soon become Liverpool’s next attacking superstar.
Isak could thrive under this pressure
Noted as being “really happy” to get back on the scoresheet after a long goalscoring duck at Anfield versus the Eagles, Isak will hope he can kick on during his second season on Merseyside.
After all, he never looked fazed by the pressure of being Newcastle’s main attacking spark during his 109-game spell at St James’ Park, when greats such as Alan Shearer have previously graced the Tyneside turf.
Having powered home 62 goals in the black and white of Newcastle and another 44 during his time with Real Sociedad, the Swede arrived at Anfield with a proven track record of elite finishing.
After a stop-start debut season, the hope is that this potent marksman will now take centre stage. With Mohamed Salah’s legendary 440-game tenure drawing to a close, Liverpool are in desperate need of a new attacking focal point to spearhead a new era.
In McAteer’s eyes, Isak is the game-changing presence Liverpool is crying out for.
