'Salah wasn't happy to see him come on' - Liverpool wonderkid backed

Stuart Telford

• 16 Oct 2023 13:26 CDT
• 3 min read

Liverpool may not have to go shopping for their Mohamed Salah replacement should the Egyptian be spirited away to the Saudi Pro League, with Ben Doak tipped to make a big impact at Anfield.

Liverpool reportedly rejected a £150 million bid from Al-Ittihad for Salah at the end of the summer transfer window, but the Saudi Pro League are expected to make another push for the superstar winger next year.

Leroy Sane has emerged as a likely replacement, the former Manchester City winger enjoying career-best form with six goals in seven Bundesliga games for Bayern, but ready for a new challenge after four seasons back in Germany.

READ: Leroy Sane to Liverpool: How much will Man City earn if Bayern star returns to the Premier League?

Sane is valued at €44.9 million by FootballTransfers' in-house algorithm, and Bayern would likely demand at least that to part ways with a star player who is still under contract until 2025, but Liverpool needn't spend so big according to Andy Walker.

'Salah… wasn't happy'

"I think he'll get some more game time between now and the end of the season," the Celtic legend said of Doak, who left Parkhead for Anfield for just £600,000 in July 2022. "You can see what it meant to Mo Salah when he went off. Was it Chelsea, the first game of the season? He wasn't happy to see Ben Doak coming on."

Doak technically replaced Luis Diaz that day, although Salah also went off in the 77th minute of that 1-1 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge with Harvey Elliott replacing him.

READ: "He's going to be some player" - Fans excited by Ben Doak cameo for Liverpool

Doak's Liverpool career has otherwise been largely restricted to Premier League 2 and the UEFA Youth League this season, across which the 17-year-old has managed eight goals and six assists from 21 games.

He is valued at €4.6M (£4m) per FootballTransfers' in-house algorithm, so Liverpool's investment has already been shrewd on strict financial terms, and his value will grow exponentially if Walker is right and he can indeed succeed Salah.