Emile Heskey has urged Liverpool to make a bold move as Mohamed Salah nears his exit from the club. He suggested that Liverpool sign AC Milan star Christian Pulisic and believes he represents an ideal replacement.
Salah has led Liverpool’s attack for years, scoring goals at an impressive rate. He joined the club in 2017 after two strong seasons with Roma. Since his arrival, the club has enjoyed plenty of success, including two Premier Leagues titles and a UEFA Champions League trophy.
Salah has scored 188 goals in 307 appearances for the club, a rate that demands a long-term vision.
Heskey, a former Premier League striker, believes Pulisic can thrive at Liverpool. The American’s previous stint with Chelsea did not unfold as he had hoped. However, his time with AC Milan could serve him well and give him the confidence to excel in the Premier League.
“I actually quite like Christian Pulisic. He is very direct, he probably didn’t get as many goals as I would have liked him to get at Chelsea, but I thought he gave defenses problems,” Heskey told OLBG. “Obviously, after a good World Cup, being at home [in the United States] with the pressure on him, he is definitely someone who could offer something different to Mo Salah.”
Emile Heskey Highlights Similarity between Christian Pulisic and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah
Emile Heskey also highlighted a key similarity between Mohamed Salah and Christian Pulisic. He noted that Salah’s first experience in the Premier League with Chelsea did not go well. Like Pulisic, he moved to the Italian Serie A, where he found his rhythm.
Salah joined Fiorentina in 2015 and scored six goals in 16 appearances. Later that season, he joined Roma on loan and performed much better. He returned to the Premier League in 2017 and scored 32 goals in 36 appearances in his first season with Liverpool.
Pulisic, meanwhile, had a promising start with Chelsea but later fell out of favor as the club’s direction shifted. As a result with his lack of playing time, the American signed with AC Milan.
Heskey said he believes Pulisic can make a similar impact for Liverpool if he returns to the Premier League.
‘[Salah] left Chelsea to go to Italy and look at what he’s done for Liverpool. I think it’d be great to see someone like Pulisic come back into the Premier League in the same way,” Heskey told OLBG. “I’m guessing he would love to show that his time at Chelsea was just a little blip. He was only a young lad when he came over.”
Heskey Explains Difficulty of Replacing Salah
Although he suggested Christian Pulisic as a replacement, Heskey acknowledged that replacing Salah will be a challenging task for Liverpool.
Heskey described Salah’s skill set and goal-scoring ability as massive void to fill. He highlighted the Egyptian’s consistency as being a critical standard for any successor. Salah remained a presence in the Premier League goal scoring race, so his replacement must deliver.
“I think as fans you’ve got to look at something different because you can’t replace [him],” Heskey told OLBG. “We’re talking about someone scoring 20 plus, nearly 30 goals a season for 10 years.”
Emile Heskey Suggests AC Milan Star Replace Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah