Emile Heskey names £70m Champions League winner as his ‘go-to’ successor to Salah at Liverpool | OneFootball

Emile Heskey has named Paris Saint-Germain winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia as his ‘go-to’ successor to Mo Salah at Liverpool.

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Although the Egyptian’s current contract runs to June 2027, there’s been continuing discourse about his short-term future, with both Richard Keys and Tim Sherwood claiming in recent days that the 33-year-old will depart Anfield in the coming summer.

The Reds have been constantly linked with prospective long-term replacements for our number 11 over the past few months, with RB Leipzig youngster Yan Diomande among the most-cited targets for a prospective move to Merseyside.

(Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

Heskey names Kvaratskhelia as his ‘go-to’ Salah successor

Heskey has said that the task of replacing Salah at Liverpool is virtually impossible, but he’s pinpointed Kvaratskhelia as his preferrred option to ultimately step into the Egyptian’s vast shoes.

The former Reds striker told OLBG (via The Mirror): “We’re talking about replacing Mohamed Salah and I think as fans you’ve got to look at something different because you can’t replace Mo Salah.

“I remember one season I was speaking to someone who said Mo’s had a bad season. He’d scored 25 goals! I’d love to have had that bad of a season. We’re talking about someone scoring 20 plus, nearly 30 goals a season for 10 years.

“I don’t think you can replace Mo Salah but I do like the lad from PSG, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. He would be my go-to.”

(Photo by Franco Arland/Getty Images)

Would Kvaratskhelia be a realistic signing for Liverpool to target?

Just over a year after joining PSG from Napoli in an €80m (£70m) deal, the Georgia international has accrued 16 goals and 14 assists in 63 appearances – a decent if not earth-shattering return.

According to Gianluca Di Marzio, Liverpool had actually made an offer of €100m (£87.4m) for the 25-year-old in Arne Slot’s first summer in charge, but the Serie A club rejected the proposal before selling him to Luis Enrique’s side a few months later.

That twist of fate came back to haunt the Reds as Kvaratskhelia was in the PSG side which knocked us out of the Champions League on their way to winning the competition, with the winger scoring one of their five goals in the final against Inter Milan.

The Georgian hasn’t been a guaranteed starter at the Parc des Princes this season (just 11 in Ligue 1 so far), but similar to Diomande, his ability to play on either flank could make him a quite appealing option for the Anfield hierarchy.

He’s also coming into what’ll likely be his prime footballing years and already boasts a wealth of high-level experience for both club and country, so he could be a top-tier successor to Salah in the Liverpool side if the Reds were to move for him in the near future.

Heskey’s recommendation seems to be a sound one, although it’d surely take a lofty transfer fee to persuade PSG to sell Kvaratskhelia unless circumstances were to change drastically.