Leroy Sane is the perfect replacement for Mohamed Salah at Liverpool, says former winger, but Bukayo Saka is not yet at the Egyptian’s level, it has been argued
Former Liverpool winger Jermaine Pennant believes Bayern Munich’s Leroy Sane to be the ideal replacement for Mohamed Salah, should the Egypt star leave Anfield at the end of his contract next summer. But the 2007 Champions League finalists with the Reds says Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka is not yet at the level Salah has shown while on Merseyside.
Salah is out of contract at the end of the season and is free to talk to clubs about a pre-contract agreement as early as January 1. The 32-year-old has started the campaign in style, scoring six times and claiming six assists across all competitions for the current Premier League leaders.
Pennant, who played for the Reds under Rafa Benitez between 2006 and 2009, thinks Germany winger Sane has shown he could succeed Salah on the right side of the attack, should the club’s top scorer of the Premier League era walk away next summer as a free agent.
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“There are wingers out there with the pace and goalscoring ability that you could replace Mohamed Salah with,” Pennant told Safest Casino Sites. “I’d love to see Leroy Sane come in from Bayern Munich, after seeing what he did to Arsenal in the Champions League.
“I haven’t seen many players do that to Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, and he does it every week in Germany. He knows the Premier League from his time at Manchester City, so for me he would be a great replacement for Salah if he leaves Liverpool.
“Would he put up the numbers that Salah does? I don’t think so, but then again, who would?”
On the prospect of Arsenal star Saka, Pennant added: “It’s difficult with Bukayo Saka.
“I look at players in his position like Mohamed Salah, who is definitely world class because of the numbers he’s put up over the past seven years at Liverpool.
“He’s always scoring 20 goals a season and recording double figures in assists too. With Saka, his best goalscoring season so far has been 15 goals, so I think he needs to get up to Salah’s numbers in order to reach that world-class status.
“I think Saka can achieve that in the future, but for the time being, you can’t give someone a world-class status when there are players in his position recording better statistics. If Saka can put up some slightly higher numbers, then I’d describe him as a world-class player.
“Would he get into Liverpool’s XI on the right over Salah? I don’t think so, not yet.”
