Talk of Maximilian Beier being a potential Liverpool target may have some fans training one eye on the summer window.
One other option the Merseysiders could pursue as a long-term successor on the right flank may be Borussia Dortmund’s Donyell Malen.
Christian Falk reports that the Wieringen-born forward’s new agents have been engaged in ‘talks’ with the club over a potential exit.
“Talks were had between Donyell Malen’s representatives and Dortmund over his future since he changed agents and the club isn’t confident in Malen,” the BILD reporter wrote in his exclusive column with CaughtOffside. “He can leave the club for €30m, so if there is interest from the Premier League, they would talk with any interested club. He’s up for sale in January.”
Available for a paltry £25.7m, it’s a rather cheap solution we could explore to solve a long-term problem.
Would Malen be an ideal long-term replacement for Salah?
As far as we’re concerned, we’d be happy to have Mo Salah remain at Anfield for as long as his body is capable of handling the demands of Premier League football.
Judging by the latest evidence on offer, it would appear more than likely that this will remain the case for the foreseeable future.
That said, there’s no reason why the club can’t future-proof in the meantime.
Statistically, it’s interesting that the Egyptian King is listed as the eighth-most similar player to Donyell Malen, according to FBref.
That may be explained in part by the 24-year-old’s remarkable combined xG and xAG which puts him in the 97th percentile of footballers in Europe’s top five leagues.
It’s a figure that may significantly improve too with better service, given the Dortmund forward receives far fewer progressive passes (8.29) per 90 than his Liverpool counterpart (11.66).
#Ep97 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones🎙️