"He definitely has what it takes" - Liverpool star backed to take over from Mohamed Salah by former player
Former Liverpool star Ronnie Rosenthal has backed Darwin Nunez to replace Mohamed Salah if the Egyptian forward leaves next summer.
The 31-year-old winger attracted massive interest from the Middle East this summer. Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad reportedly made a £150 million offer for Salah that was rejected.
They made another move in the latter stages of the transfer window, bidding a world-record £225 million. However, the transfer never materialized, as the Reds were not interested in selling their star player.
Rosenthal claims that the Merseyside outfit will offload the Egypt international next summer when he will have only one year left on his existing contract. While Salah's departure from Anfield would be a huge blow to Liverpool given the impact he has had at the club, Rosenthal has found the perfect replacement.
He heaped praise on Nunez while stating the former Benfica striker has the potential to become a consistent goal-scorer for Liverpool. Rosenthal said in an interview with TEAMtalk:
"Nunez was a good signing, he definitely has what it takes to score goals consistently. It’s not easy adapting to a first season in England, but you could see he was dangerous with his speed and strength."
"He’s a player I’d watched before he went to Benfica and you could see he was going to be a very good player," he added.
Nunez is off to an excellent start to the 2023/24 campaign for Liverpool. The Uruguay international has scored seven goals and provided five assists in 14 appearances across all competitions for the Reds this term.
Pundit claims Liverpool star is 'not completely comfortable' with playing 'out of position'
Former Liverpool defender Glen Johnson has admitted he feels sorry for Alexis Mac Allister, who has been playing out of position this season. The pundit believes the Reds have no chance of winning the title this season if they deploy players in unnatural positions.
The Argentine World Cup winner has been used as a defensive midfielder by Jurgen Klopp in all ten of Liverpool's Premier League encounters this season.
Throughout his career, Mac Allister has registered 70 appearances as an attacking midfielder and 58 appearances in central midfield, showing more of an attack-minded profile.
Johnson said regarding the former Brighton midfielder (via TEAMtalk):
"I kind of feel sorry for Mac Allister a little bit. He’s obviously been asked to do something he’s not completely comfortable with and he’s doing a job for the team."
"It’s great that he’s willing to do that, but to be title contenders you can’t have too many players playing out of position, and I don’t think he was signed to play that role. It’s just what they need at the moment from him," he added.