Liverpool has an easy, free solution to replace Mohamed Salah.

Mohamed Salah might not be available for Liverpool until the middle of February, depending on how Egypt does in the AFCON.

Liverpool has an easy, free solution to replace Mohamed Salah.

In the midst of a Premier League title race, Liverpool would have preferred to avoid losing Mohamed Salah for an extended length of time.

 

But that is exactly the dilemma Jurgen Klopp and his coaching staff will soon be forced to face with as the 31-year-old prepares to take part in the latest edition of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). If Egypt makes it to the competition final, Salah might be absent until February 11 when AFCON kicks off on January 13.

 

Salah’s exit occurs at a time when the attacking options for the Reds have been spotty, with others needing to step up to fill the void left by his absence in the final third. Diogo Jota’s return will help alleviate some of this goal-scoring pressure, and another player may surprise everyone by making an impact.

 

In fact, because of his lack of playing time at RB Leipzig, Liverpool may decide to recall Fabio Carvalho during the January transfer window. The Fulham academy alumnus was sent on loan to the Bundesliga team for the whole current campaign, but his playing time has been restricted to a meagre few cameos in league and cup play.

Carvalho’s circumstances aren’t expected to get better anytime soon either, as Leipzig is moving to finalize a trade for Eljif Elmas, an offensive midfielder for Napoli, which will further demote him from the German team’s hierarchy.

 

Due to Carvalho’s current circumstances, which are neither advantageous to the 21-year-old or the Reds, Liverpool has started discussions about recalling the player. For the second part of the current season, Klopp may choose to keep the 2021–2022 Championship winner, but he might also choose to loan the player to another team.

The youthful player showed glimpses of brilliance during his first season on Merseyside, most notably in back-to-back games in August 2022 against Newcastle and Bournemouth, where the former Fulham star scored in both matches despite just playing off the bench. In December of last year, during a Carabao Cup away match against Manchester City, Carvalho also made an impression by reacting almost immediately to Erling Haaland’s opening goal at the Etihad Stadium.

There is definitely a case to be made for Carvalho to have a major part based on Liverpool’s January schedule. The Lisbon native might play left flank in a two-leg Carabao Cup semi-final matchup with his old team Fulham, as well as a Premier League trip to Bournemouth, giving players like Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz a much-needed break.

 

Preserving trophy ambitions can be maintained by retaining Carvalho on the Reds’ roster as they get ready to compete on all fronts at the beginning of the season.