Liverpool may be one of the last Premier League sides to conduct any transfer business this summer. But that won’t stop it from getting the division’s top star.
Liverpool does not tend to sign marquee names. It’s impressive, then, that by the end of the summer, it could have the Premier League’s biggest star by a distance.
Particularly under FSG, but going back even further, Liverpool has shied away from signing players with established top-level pedigree. Much of the excitement over Thiago Alcantara could be attributed to the rarity of the Reds signing a Champions League winner and a serial champion directly from one of Europe’s traditional powerhouses.
And look how that turned out. Ultimately, cliche or not, Anfield is generally a place for making stars, not buying them.
Just take Mohamed Salah. There was ample evidence from Italy that the Egyptian was ready for a
second go at the Premier League, but there’s no avoiding the fact that the Reds were signing a Chelsea flop.
It was a gamble. But in the intervening years, Salah has turned into the kind of player that Liverpool would never have been able to bring to Anfield directly —
he is a living Premier League legend and has been among the very best in the world for the last half-decade or more.
In fact, among active players, only Kevin De Bruyne can claim to rival Salah in terms of superstardom status. Two of the Premier League’s biggest names, they have been bastions of
consistency in recent years, relentlessly churning out elite-level output — be it goals or assists.
De Bruyne has generally come out on the winning side with Manchester City. Even so, Liverpool fans would vehemently make the case for Salah being the league’s best; the 32-year-old is consistently the second-most creative player behind De Bruyne, all while maintaining the goal output of a forward.
Nonetheless, there’s a debate to be had. But one thing not open for discussion is that the pair are head and shoulders above the rest of the competition.
Except they might not be in the same competition for much longer. According to reports, De Bruyne has agreed terms with Al-Ittihad, and Manchester City does not intend to stand in his way.
Incidentally, this would see De Bruyne link up with former Liverpool man Fabinho. But back in the Premier League, it would leave Slot with the biggest fish in the pond by a distance.
You couldn’t categorically say that Salah would be the best player in the league. Younger stars are forging their reputations, with Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, and Phil Foden all phenomenal last season —
even though the Liverpool man would back himself every single time.
But for the whole package of status, stardom, performance level,
and long-term consistency, Salah is certainly now the undisputed Premier League poster boy.
That’s a massive asset for Liverpool, and one that is a testament to the recruitment that
brought him to Anfield in the first place — now the pressure is on Michael Edwards to repeat the trick.