Former Liverpool and Scotland right-back, Steve Nicol, has urged Victor Osimhen to replace the ageing Mo Salah at Anfield, Soccernet.ng reports.
The 25-year-old Napoli striker defeated Mohamed Salah and Paris Saint-Germain’s Achraf Hakimi to win the 2023 CAF Player of the Year Award.
Due to injuries, has not been able to replicate the numbers he put up from last season, but Salah, on the other hand, has scored 23 goals and recorded 13 assists in 37 games this season.
Jurgen Klopp’s men were on a trophy hunt for all four trophies at the start of February. After winning the Carabao Cup, they lost their FA Cup quarter-final game to Manchester United. They also fell to a defeat to Crystal Palace last weekend to lose grip on the first position on the EPL table and have work to do tonight as they travel to Bergamo with faint hopes of overturning a 3-nil first-leg deficit against Ademola Lookman’s Atalanta.
Salah lit Anfield up since joining in 2017, but there are hints that the 31-year-old Egyptian will eventually move on, with Klopp’s exit an integral part of that. His contract expires in 2025, and there has been no success as regards a renewal.
The five-time UEFA Champions League winners had to fend off interest from Saudi Arabia for the former Basel man last summer, although, Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and Roberto Firminho made their way to the Middle East. With the lucrative nature of the Saudi deals, Liverpool might not be able to hold on to Salah much longer.
Should the three-time EPL Golden Boot winner decide to leave Liverpool, Steve Nicol believes signing Osimhen would be a perfect response by the club’s hierarchy.
“The fact that Salah is leaving, whether this year or next year, Osimhen? I think he would be fantastic for Liverpool. In the middle of the park, we’ve just signed Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, Endo’s turned out to be incredible, you need someone who will run all day and give it to Mac Allister, Szoboszlai and Salah,” the 62-year-old said on ESPN FC.
Should Osimhen move to Anfield, Nicol believes Darwin Núñez will be forced to play out wide since his work rate is outstanding, but his clinicality is questionable. Osimhen on the other hand, is deft in front of goal.