While Liverpool consider their options around Mohamed Salah‘s contract, a shockingly bad replacement discussed during talks in 2022 has been revealed.
Salah remains in talks with Liverpool over the possible extension of a deal that runs out next summer, with no resolution in sight yet.
Part of that is due to the club’s delicate balancing act when it comes to only retaining players who can offer long-term value, with understandable doubts over Salah’s longevity given he will turn 33 in June.
One consideration is whether to pay Salah his club-record wages beyond the current campaign or use those funds to bring in his replacement.
A similar situation played out in 2022, when the Egyptian eventually signed his last extension, albeit with the narrative at the time being around whether Liverpool could convince Salah to stay.
With there doubts over his future, a number of possible replacements were considered internally – including now-Man United winger Antony.
Klopp ‘discussed’ Antony
That is according to the Times‘ Paul Joyce, who reports that Antony was “discussed by Jurgen Klopp” as a potential successor to Salah on the right flank.
At the time, Antony was at Ajax, scoring 12 goals and laying on 10 assists in 33 appearances in the 2021/22 season as his side won the Eredivisie and reached the last 16 of the Champions League.
Thankfully, Fenway Sports Group president Mike Gordon stepped in and sanctioned a basic £350,000-a-week contract for Salah, who extended his deal by three more years and became Liverpool’s best-paid player ever.
Antony, meanwhile, left Ajax for Man United in a deal worth up to £86 million, earning around £200,000 per week at Old Trafford.
He has played 87 times for United so far, scoring 12 goals and assisting a further five in that time, and is widely considered one of the worst signings in Premier League history.
While things may have been different had he joined Liverpool instead, there is no evidence that he would have been able to adequately replace Salah’s output.
In fact given he played under Erik ten Hag – formerly his Ajax coach – at United, common sense would suggest that Antony should have been better placed to adjust.
It is a shocking reminder of the issues Liverpool could face if they don’t extend Salah’s contract beyond 2025, with there no right-sider in world football operating at his level.
While Antony may have been an unbelievably bad candidate to take over in Klopp’s attack, there is no guarantee any alternatives being considered now would fare any better.
