Fernando Morientes has said he would ‘love’ to see Liverpool making an audacious attempt to sign one of the best wingers in world football to replace Mo Salah this summer.
The Egyptian’s exit at the end of last season has left the Reds with an enormous void to fill on the right-hand side of attack, and Paris Saint-Germain’s Bradley Barcola continues to be the primary transfer target in that regard.
However, the player who the ex-LFC striker would most love to see coming in is someone who’s set to appear in the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina on Sunday.
Speaking to Reviant (via Liverpool Echo), Morientes proclaimed: “I’d love it if Liverpool sent for Lamine Yamal from Barcelona to replace Mohamed Salah! I mean, a Spaniard at Liverpool, to give it that level. That way we take a great player from Barca and hand him to Liverpool.
“Since I’m a [Real] Madrid fan and a Liverpool fan too, I’ll be keeping half an eye on both of them this year. It’s going to be difficult to replace Salah, though.
“He is a young right winger with a bright future ahead, and it would be good for Real Madrid not to see him with Barca, so better to see him play for Liverpool. That way, he’s with a team that I love, and I can enjoy seeing him win titles.”
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Liverpool could do with an elite-level replacement for Salah, and the outrageously talented Yamal would certainly fit that description.
Already on 49 goals in 151 senior games for Barcelona despite only turning 19 this week, the Spain winger has an extraordinarily high ceiling, as reflected in his Transfermarkt valuation of €200m (£169.5m), the joint-highest in the world alongside Erling Haaland.
Last year, the teenager signed a contract which, with all performance-related bonuses triggered, could see him earn just under £33.5m annually, and that deal was agreed when he was still just 17 (The Athletic).
Liverpool may be one of the most famous clubs in world football and benefit from the riches which come with competing at the top end of the Premier League and annual qualification for the Champions League, but even they’d baulk at the finances it’d hypothetically take to sign Yamal from Camp Nou.
We totally get why Morientes would love to see the 19-year-old at Anfield, and not just to spite Barcelona, but realistically FSG would need to explore a deal for someone like Barcola who’d be a bit more attainable and would still inject considerable quality into our forward line.
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