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Former Tottenham Hotspur star Les Ferdinand believes that the emergence of wingers like Liverpool's Mohamed Salah has led to the demise of traditional strikers. The Egypt international is seemingly in contention for the 2025 Ballon d'Or award following a stunning club season with the Reds.
Overall, the former Roma and Chelsea attacker has made 42 appearances across competitions this campaign, bagging 32 goals and 22 assists. Claiming that the wide players like Salah have inspired fewer players to take up the role of a proper number nine, Ferdinand told GOAL:
"You talk about forwards and centre forwards and what the demise of the No.9 has been, it's been people like Mo Salah! They've shown you can play as a winger or out wide and come in and still score 30 goals and have all these assists."
"Everyone wants to play in that role rather than be that fella through the middle. But what he's done is absolutely phenomenal in terms of the best numbers any forward has put up."
Salah has been brilliant since joining Liverpool from Roma in the summer of 2017 for a reported fee of €42 million. He has made 391 appearances across competitions for the Merseyside outfit, bagging 243 goals and 110 assists.
The 32-year-old has won the Premier League and UEFA Champions League once each at Anfield, among other honors. He has the opportunity to add to his trophy collection, with the Reds set to take on Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday, March 16.
Liverpool preparing €100 million bid for Mohamed Salah replacement - Reports
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Ousmane Dembele
Much has been made of Mohamed Salah's future at Liverpool, with the winger's current agreement expiring in the summer. It looks as though the Reds have their contingency plans in place and have listed potential replacements for their superstar player.
Fichajes.net claims that one of these attackers is Paris Saint-Germain's (PSG) Ousmane Dembele (via Football Transfers). This report claims that the Merseysiders are preparing a €100 million offer for the Frenchman, with his contract in Paris expiring in the summer of 2028.
Dembele has been in fine form this season and has heavily contributed to PSG making it to the quarter-finals of this year's UEFA Champions League. Overall, he's played 36 matches across competitions this campaign, bagging 29 goals and six assists.
If PSG are to win the Champions League this year, Dembele could consider a new challenge, given he's never played in the Premier League.
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Edited by Sudeshna Banerjee