Rumour Mongering: Liverpool Consider Gelson Martins as Salah Alternative

Liverpool appear to be on the verge of two big signings on opposite ends of the pitch, but that won’t stop the rumor mill from spinning. The latest out of Portugal is that Jurgen Klopp and Co. are already lining up a possible attacking replacement for Mohamed Salah in the eventuality that the deal for the Egyptian international falls through. Because, you know, we are Liverpool and everything’s the worst (tra-la-la-la-la).

The report indicates that if the deal falls through, the Reds might instead turn to 22-year-old Sporting Lisbon winger Gelson Martins. Martins, a u-20 Portuguese international, scored 6 goals and added 14 assists in 32 Portuguese league appearances.

Martins allegedly has a buy-out clause of approximately £50 million, but because of Sporting’s uncertain Champions League qualification status, the club might be willing to let him go for a significant discount. Or so the logic goes.

This is an interesting rumor, if only because Martins might be the last winger in Europe not already linked to Liverpool. However, he appears to be a couple of years behind Salah in his development (which would make sense, considering he is actually a couple years behind Salah), and not as much of a sure bet as the Roma attacker.

It is also worth considering that this might very well be posturing from an agent, or even Liverpool, showing a willingness to move on to other targets if necessary. Or, most likely, just something someone in Portugal made up.