Manchester United winger Antony has emerged as one of the names who was shortlisted to replace Mohamed Salah at Liverpool in 2022.
Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp reportedly considered signing Antony from Ajax as a potential replacement for Mohamed Salah in 2022.
Rumours around Salah’s future intensified during the summer of that year, before Liverpool were finally able to tie the Egyptian down on a deal that runs until 2025.
However, planning for the worst-case scenario and Salah leaving, Liverpool would have had a shortlist of players to consider if the winger had departed that summer.
Since extending his deal with Liverpool, Salah has not won any silverware with Liverpool, but has scored 65 goals in 102 games across all competitions, adding to his all-time tally of 221 for the club.
Antony was on the list of Salah replacements?
The Times claim that one of the players that Klopp spoke to with the Liverpool scouting team about possibly replacing Salah was then-Ajax winger Antony.
Antony was coming off a season where he contributed to 20 goals across all competitions for the Amsterdam club, who won the Eredivisie title the season before.
Liverpool dropped interest in all potential targets after Salah signed his contract extension, and Antony would then go on to sign for their rivals Manchester United in a deal worth roughly £85m.
The Brazilian’s spell at Old Trafford has become infamous for the wrong reasons though, often being cited as one of the poorest signings under Erik ten Hag, given the price tag compared to the impact he has made on the pitch.
Antony has not been a regular in the Man United team since the first few months of his time at the club, and the 24-year-old managed just one Premier League goal in 29 appearances last season.
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Who could Liverpool target next time?
Liverpool may find themselves in a similar situation to that of 2022, when Salah’s contract expires next summer.
Arne Slot currently has numerous attacking options available to him at Liverpool, but none are truly proven at playing on the right-hand side of attack.
Salah’s constant availability means that no experimentation has been required with the right-wing position for quite some time at Anfield.
Harvey Elliott has featured there in cup games for the club, but the likes of Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez are more accustomed to playing on the left, while Diogo Jota is primarily a central option.
In terms of a like-for-like replacement, Jarrod Bowen‘s name has floated around for some time, while Eintracht Frankfurt forward Omar Marmoush is also currently being linked.
