Liverpool overpowered Manchester United in the Premier League last weekend, making a mockery of Old Trafford's resolve and maintaining the perfect start to the season.
Virgil van Dijk and co have yet to concede, and post-Jurgen Klopp life looks to be promising indeed, with Federico Chiesa the only addition to Arne Slot's first team, joining for a shrewd £12.5m from Juventus.
Chiesa has been beset by injury misfortune in recent years but played a central role for the Old Lady in 2023/24, starting 25 Serie A matches and scoring nine goals.
There's now a frontline that's six-man strong at Anfield, and it's quite an attacking coterie at that. Mohamed Salah turned 32 during the off-season but has returned to the Premier League with staggering ferocity. Will he? Won't he?
Mohamed Salah's contract situation
Salah, Van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold are all out of contract at the end of the season… perhaps you've heard. You could put forth a compelling argument that this trio form the very nucleus of Liverpool's squad, and all could be gone come August 2025.
For free. That's a very important facet of this ever-deepening quandary. What should have been sorted long ago has festered and spread into a quagmire. All is quiet vis-a-vis Alexander-Arnold and Van Dijk (Liverpool's homegrown vice-captain and their skipper), but there are promising signs on the Salah front.
The Liverpool Echo have gleaned through numerous sources that Salah is hoping to extend his £350k-per-week contract on Merseyside, with his family settled in the city and the man himself hungry for more of the illustrious success that has established him as one of the pre-eminent forwards of his generation.
He might be getting on a bit but it would be terrible to see Salah leave at the end of his contract next summer, and should he stay on, the ripple effect might be a wonderful thing for Slot and his Liverpool project.
Mohamed Salah under Arne Slot
Salah's seamless transition from high-output winger to more varied playmaker has been something special, with the Egypt international tinkering at his game in the same way Lionel Messi did.
Shots
3.6
3.3
On target
1.8
2.0
Touches
45.9
50.7
Key passes
2.1
1.7
Dribbles
0.8
1.3
Total duels won
2.4
3.7
A summer of recuperation appears to have worked wonders, with Salah posting three goals and three assists apiece in the English top flight over just three matches but, as the table above shows you, is proving to be more committed and energetic in ball-carrying and defensive phases.
Some things change and some things stay the same. Salah is no longer pulled by Klopp's strings but he rifles goals and places assists against Man United with frightening consistency, world-class consistency.
It's a haunting thought to imagine that he might ply his trade elsewhere anytime soon – Salah is in impeccable shape and he will continue to dominate defences for several years yet.
But Liverpool do need to think about a successor, and while Chiesa has been welcomed to mete out goals and assists at Anfield, he's got a shoddy injury record and may not be the long-term replacement that is needed to truly replace the Egypt international.
That man could be Ben Doak, who has been shipped out on loan.
Why Ben Doak could be the perfect heir
Some supporters expressed disappointment at seeing 18-year-old winger Doak leave on loan this summer, joining Middlesbrough for the remainder of 2024/25.
Doak had started to work his way into Klopp's plans last year before a cruel meniscus tear threw him to the sidelines in December, and there he remained until the off-season.
Last term, Doak featured prominently in the Europa League for Liverpool, starting three matches and averaging 2.7 dribbles and 4.7 successful duels per game, as per Sofascore, which emphasises the athletic and combative qualities that have placed him in such high regard.
Liverpool U21
16
5
2
Liverpool
10
0
0
Liverpool UEFA U19
8
4
4
Liverpool U18
5
2
2
Celtic
2
0
0
He's still waiting to claim his first senior goal contribution but he's got the tools to build up an impressive portfolio over the coming year, with Middlesbrough playing exciting, fast-flowing football under Michael Carrick's management.
With blistering speed and deceptive strength, Doak has been christened the "Scottish Wayne Rooney" by his agent Jackie McNamara for such skills, and he might just be the dream Salah heir, should he develop in the right way over the coming years.
The signs this season are already promising, with the teenager playing his part in the build-up to Scott McTominay's equaliser for Scotland against Poland on Thursday night, having made an immediate impact from the bench for the senior side with a well-timed pass to Anthony Ralston.
Salah might be an incredible goalscorer, having posted 214 across 352 fixtures for the Reds, but he's also an immense playmaker, with no Premier League player bettering his 22 big chances created last season.
Moreover, while he has adapted his approach recently, drifting away from the electric-paced style that dominated the Premier League upon his arrival at Anfield, he was once a fearsome progressive outlet.
Doak has the pace, power and raw technical quality to emulate a player like Salah. Liverpool signed the teenager from Celtic in 2022, paying a compensation fee of about £600k, and though his 2023/24 campaign has been affected by injury, he has been proclaimed to be a "prodigy” by Liverpool youth correspondent Keifer MacDonald.
With the Reds well stocked up front, it made perfect sense for Doak to earn minutes in the Championship, where he can continue his physical development and start to build some rhythm ahead of a potential role in Slot's side next year.
Whether Salah will be there or not, Doak has the skills to eventually take his place, and he is definitely one to keep a close eye on…
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