Arne Slot a big fan of Liverpool's shock £1.5m Mo Salah replacement, said he makes 'a lot of chances'

Mo Salah’s eventual departure from Premier League leaders Liverpool will leave his eventual successor with bigger shoes to fill than those in the wardrobe department of the Cirque du Soleil.

The Egyptian king very nearly abdicated his throne over the summer – Liverpool rejected a £150 million bid from Saudi Arabia at a time in which Mo Salah looked destined to follow Jurgen Klopp out of the door – and Arne Slot will now be thanking his lucky stars that the Merseyside giants stuck to their guns.

Because with 15 goals and 12 assists already this season, Salah is right on track for one of his most productive campaigns yet.

And, given how easily the glows have flowed since joining Liverpool from Roma back in 2017, that is saying something.

Yet, with his contract expiring in 2025 – Salah has interest from the Middle East and America – the New Year is likely to bring with it familiar concerns over the now 32-year-old’s future.

TBR understands that Liverpool are yet to even offer Salah an extension. That is largely due to the fact that both parties are understood to be pretty far apart on what they expect from any negotiation.

Salah wants a long-term deal. The Fenway Sports Group, however, are somewhat understandably wary of tying down a player who earns £350,000-a-week potentially until the age of 36.

Liverpool linked with Anis Hadj Moussa as possible Mo Salah successor

Now, preparing for every scenario, Liverpool have been linked with a number of possible replacements.

Borussia Dortmund speedster Karim Adeyemi is one option. TBR have been told that Liverpool and Arsenal scouted Takefusa Kubo of Real Sociedad recently too.

A more left-field left-wing addition, however, would be that of Anis Hadj Moussa.

Reports recently suggested that Arne Slot could look to bring the Feyenoord whizzkid to Anfield, having played a role in his bargain £1.5 million move from Belgian outfit Patro Eisden Maasmechelen to the 2023 Eredivisie champions while leaving for England.

Slot, Dutch reporter Martijn Krabbendam tells Voetbal International, admired the 22-year-old Algerian from afar while in De Kuip’s hotseat.

“Slot noticed that a certain Anis Hadj Moussa not only passes easily, but also always poses a threat and thus creates space for fellow players,” Krabbendam explains. “This Algerian attacker forces opponents to make choices.”

Often, the wrong choice too.

Hadj Moussa may lack Salah’s explosiveness at this stage of his career but, at such a young age, his rise to prominence in recent months has been pretty staggering.

The Paris-born winger only made his mark in the Eredivisie in February during a loan spell at Vitesse Arnhem but he needed just two months in yellow and black to convince Slot that he was the real deal, albeit still a work in progress.

With four goals from 14 appearances – one coming at the Etihad as Feyenoord stunned Manchester City in the Champions League recently – Hadj Moussa is also adding a ruthless streak to his silky-smooth footwork and dazzling drop of the shoulder.

“In Liverpool, the old Feyenoord coach watches the performance of his former club and enjoys the player he brought in but never worked with,” Krabbendam adds, labelling the finish Hadj Moussa produced against Red Bull Salzburg in November as ‘world-class’.

“Yet, even Slot could not have imagined that Hadj Moussa’s development would go so quickly.”

Arne Slot had praise but also a warning for Feyenoord star

Krabbendam is probably right.

When Hadj Moussa’s move to Feyenoord was confirmed back in April, during Slot’s final few weeks at the helm, the now-Liverpool chief admitted that he had a long, long way to go before he could even dream of starting for Feyenoord.

Seven months on, he is already one of the first names on Brian Priske’s team sheet.

“I think it would be a huge challenge for him to start in our first team, if you were to get him today. That is [because of] the intensity of our game,” Slot said at the time.

“But if you could bring him on for the last 20 minutes today, and you have the ball all the time, I have the impression he is capable of creating a lot of chances for us.”

“[There are] things that he really needs to improve. Quite a few. That was discussed about 112 times in the conversation I had with him!”