‘Very few out there’ – Steven Gerrard tells Liverpool to make perfect summer signing | OneFootball

Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard hopes the Reds can go and replace Mohamed Salah with Michael Olise in the summer transfer window.

The Reds announced last month that Salah will leaving Anfield at the end of the season to give the Egpytian a chance to say goodbye to fans properly.

Salah has been incredible in his nine years at Anfield, scoring 255 goals in 436 matches in all competitions and helping Liverpool to two Premier League titles, a Champions League, an FA Cup, a League Cup, a UEFA Super Cup and a FIFA Club World Cup.

Liverpool, who are currently fifth in the Premier League, now have the tough task of finding a replacement for Salah in the summer and Bayern Munich winger Olise has been the player on many fans’ lips.

And Gerrard hopes that Liverpool can push the boat out for Olise in the summer but expects the France international to stay at Bayern Munich.

Gerrard told talkSPORT: “I think the concern, if you’re trying to replace Salah, in terms of like, for like, I think there’s very few out there that you can go and grab.

“Olise would be one, I would say, but I don’t think he’d be available, but from experience, being around Liverpool as a player, and also since I’ve left, Liverpool’s recruitment team will have different options, and that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll look for a like-for-like.

“When we had to replace [Sadio] Mane, for example, we went for [Luis] Diaz, who’s slightly different, or when [Luis] Suarez has left, they’ve had different types of options to try and replace the players.

“But Liverpool have got a fantastic record of replacing top players that have gone before, so I’ve got every confidence from a recruitment point of view that they’ll have different types of options, not necessarily a like-for-like.

“One thing is for certain, they have to try and replace some kind of his goal involvement in terms of goals and assists, which is extremely difficult because he’s been incredible for Liverpool for many years.”

In a wide-ranging interview, Gerrard insisted he was shocked to see former Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold snubbed by England boss Thomas Tuchel.

When asked if he was surprised by the Real Madrid right-back’s decision, Gerrard replied: “Yes, even more surprised if you look at the last two England games, I think it was crying out for Trent-like quality.

“In terms of that creation that you need, against Uruguay, against Japan, you need someone who’s going to be able to open the door, or someone off the bench who can come on and improve things if things are not going how you want them to go, so for him to not be in the 35 best England players for me is a huge shock, very surprised.

“The only good and positive thing about that is he’s got time to resurrect it, I’m not in Thomas Tuchel’s shoes, but if I was, the first thing I would have been doing after the Japan game is getting on the phone back to Trent and saying, ‘Listen, it’s not over for you son, on the back of them two performances.’

“We’ve all been in that situation where you’re suspended, or you’re injured and the team don’t do well, and then everyone thinks you’re better than what you are,” Gerrard continued.

“I know we’ve all been there, but I don’t think the get-together has done Trent any harm at all.

“Listen, it was an experimental international break, he can go either way, you can win comfortably in both games, and then the nation gets carried away and the more pressure on the players. I think it was a bit of a reality check, a bit of a wake-up call, but I have no doubt.

“When he gets his best players back in the squad and back on the pitch, i.e. your [Harry] Kane’s, your Declan Rice’s, your Jude Bellingham’s, you get your proper pillars in that team, your proper keeper in place and a set-back forward, there’s no doubt about it, these group of players have proved they can go the distance.

“What I mean by that is semi-finals and finals, and I have no doubt they can go and have another huge massive effort in the summer, but the last international break was a washout, and in terms of some of the managers’ personal decisions, I don’t agree with because I think that these players can make a difference for them come the summer.”