Liverpool urged to replace Mo Salah with €80m forward

Anfield’s succession planners have been urged to target Paris Saint-Germain’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia as the long-term heir to Mohamed Salah, with former Liverpool striker Emile Heskey claiming the Georgia international is the “go-to” option whenever the Egyptian’s era on Merseyside eventually ends.

Despite Salah being contracted until June 2027 and still delivering elite-level returns under Premier League-winning manager Arne Slot, pundits have reignited debate over how Liverpool transition away from a player who has redefined productivity from the right wing. Across the past decade the 33-year-old has routinely breached the 20-goal barrier, prompting Heskey to insist a direct replacement is impossible.

“We’re talking about replacing Mohamed Salah and I think as fans you’ve got to look at something different because you can’t replace Mo Salah,” Heskey told OLBG, as carried by The Mirror. “I remember one season I was speaking to someone who said Mo’s had a bad season. He’d scored 25 goals! I’d love to have had that bad of a season. We’re talking about someone scoring 20 plus, nearly 30 goals a season for 10 years.

“I don’t think you can replace Mo Salah but I do like the lad from PSG, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. He would be my go-to.”

Kvaratskhelia, 25, joined PSG last summer in an €80 million transfer from Napoli and has since registered 16 goals and 14 assists in 63 appearances for the French champions. Although not an ever-present in Ligue 1 this term, his versatility across both flanks and Champions League pedigree—he scored in the 5-2 final victory over Inter Milan—fit the profile Liverpool’s recruitment staff typically pursue.

Italian sources previously claimed Liverpool tabled a €100 million offer for the winger during Slot’s first window, only for Napoli to rebuff the advance before accepting PSG’s bid months later. Kvaratskhelia later played a pivotal role in eliminating Liverpool from the competition, further underlining his capacity to influence the biggest occasions.

While PSG regard the player as integral to their long-term project and are under no immediate financial pressure to sell, the suggestion from a respected former Anfield striker adds weight to the idea that Liverpool must consider evolutionary, rather than replicative, solutions when the time arrives to move beyond Salah. For now, the Egyptian remains central to Slot’s title-defending side, yet elite clubs habitually map out attacking transitions years in advance, and Kvaratskhelia’s name is firmly back in the frame.