Liverpool sent Mohamed Salah verdict with Lionel Messi's 'heir' named as perfect replacement

Liverpool might be at risk of losing Mo Salah this summer, but they could end up signing the 'heir' to Lionel Messi's throne to replace him.

That's according to former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder Emmanuel Petit, who thinks Barcelona's Lamine Yamal would be the "perfect" signing for the Reds. The 17-year-old exploded onto the scene at the Camp Nou last season, and helped fire Spain to European Championship glory last summer, at the expense of Gareth Southgate's England.

Barcelona won't part with the prodigious young forward easily, but a big offer could sway them given their precarious financial situation. "Lamine Yamal could be the perfect replacement for Mohamed Salah at Liverpool," Petit, who also played for Barcelona, told CasinoHawks.

"Salah has been incredible this season but he is 32 and you don’t know how long that will continue for. Yamal is 17 and represents a huge future. If Salah does leave Anfield then Yamal is the perfect replacement in that position going forward for Liverpool, it could also help their cause if they have just won the Premier League.

"My only doubt would be what Yamal decides to do. Coming to England would be a huge move given his love for Barcelona," the 54-year-old added.

Given his dazzling skills, his small stature, and his wand of a left-foot, comparisons between Yamal and Barcelona legend Messi were somewhat inevitable. But there are plenty in Catalonia who think the young Spaniard is genuinely capable of filling Messi's gigantic shoes.

Club icon and former head coach Xavi tipped him to "define en era", while ex-Barcelona presidential candidate said: "Lamine will be the next Messi, with all due respect."

But Yamal has been keen to distance himself from such comparisons. "It's nice to be compared to Messi, but reaching that is impossible. I want to be myself," he told Cadenaser. "Being compared to the best in history... I like it, but I want to be me and furthermore reaching that is impossible."

The Barcelona-born starlet - who won the prestigious Golden Boy award last year, given to the best footballer in Europe under the age of 21 - has also pledged to spend his entire career with Blaugrana, which could be a major stumbling block for Liverpool's hopes of signing him. "I never want to leave Barca, I want to be a legend here," he said.

Salah's Liverpool contract is set to expire at the end of the season, and with negotiations over an extension seemingly at an impasse, a summer departure looks increasingly likely. The uncertainty over his future hasn't affected his form at all though, with the Egyptian notching a staggering 51 goal contributions since the start of the campaign.

Arne Slot's Reds are closing in on the Premier League title too, having established an 11-point gap between themselves an Arsenal, who have a game in hand. If they get over the line it will mark Liverpool's - and Salah's - second Premier League title triumph, following their triumph in 2019/20.

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