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Liverpool has been informed it can secure its long-term successor to the iconic Mohamed Salah during the January transfer window.
Should the Reds proceed, they would be acquiring a player as "unstoppable" as Gareth Bale in his prime. This assessment comes from former England forward Darren Bent, who believes Liverpool ought to pursue Bournemouth winger Antoine Semenyo.
The Ghana international, who has already revealed the team he supported as a boy, has emerged as one of the Premier League's standout performers this campaign, netting six goals across 11 outings while also providing three assists.
Such form has sparked rumors linking the Reds - alongside Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham - with a potential move for his services. Speculation is set to intensify after it emerged that Semenyo's transfer clause is £65 million ($85.5 million).
Ex-Premier League star Bent believes it represents a transfer the defending champions must pursue.
He told talkSPORT: "He has exploded out of the traps this season and he just looks really comfortable in himself. Every game you see him do something and you go, 'Oh my goodness.' He's one of those rare players - and I call players like this unstoppable.
"Gareth Bale was like that. When I talk about unstoppable, I'm talking about their attributes. When Bale started to move, you just couldn't stop him, and Semenyo is the same. Once he gets going, he's going past people, and he's gliding. What's good about him is that he can go both ways. I think he's got the full package.
"For so long now, Liverpool have been able to depend on Salah on that right-hand side, season upon season, and don't get me wrong, he's been one of the best players we've ever seen in this country.
"But the signs are that he potentially maybe is slowing down a fraction. Now, all of a sudden, you have to start addressing both sides."
Meanwhile, another pundit has praised Semenyo's talent, believing his reported release clause to be "cheap."
Former Southampton striker Charlie Austin, a Liverpool supporter who played alongside their captain Virgil van Dijk at St Mary's, told Sky Sports News: "It sounds mad saying it, but going on the market and how everything is, absolutely it is - it is cheap.
“You can go back to the goal that he scored that opening Premier League night against Liverpool and the performance he put in.
"He gave (Milos) Kerkez a real big problem, scored the goal - it was a fantastic, fantastic performance by him that night, and then he’s continued that form all the way through the start of the season.
"Look, I think £65M is a snip to get him. And the biggest thing is, he’s only young, he's progressing. The way he's performing week in, week out for them, he has made himself Bournemouth's talisman."
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