Mohamed Salah has been told he is not "indispensable" to Liverpool and could be sold "if the price is right".
That is the view of former Reds goalkeeper David James, who suggested Liverpool play better as a team without the Egyptian in their side.
Salah was absent for Liverpool's impressive 3-0 win over Leicester on Sunday, with replacement Diogo Jota scoring for a fourth successive home game.
There has been plenty of talk in the past about Liverpool eventually breaking up their front three, given their advancing years, and James now feels Salah moving abroad could be a plausible development.
Asked whether a switch to Real Madrid is possible, James told Stadium Astro : “If the price is right, any player is going to be sold. It depends what that price is.
“If Salah went to Man City, I don’t think that would be good business for Liverpool. If he went to a different league and a different country, it would make more sense.
“I don’t think Liverpool are dependent on Salah and that’s a good thing for Jurgen Klopp. However, he would still need replacing."
James conceded that Jota, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino could not continue to play every match.
He also stated his belief that Divock Origi could not fill the void, but added: "I don’t think [Salah]'s indispensable."
Salah may not be indispensable, but his goal stats and achievements at Liverpool are unparallelled by his teammates.
He was the fourth fastest player in Premier League history to reach the 50-goal milestone, and has been Liverpool's top scorer in each of the last three seasons.
In that time he has won the Premier League Golden Boot twice, as well as the PFA Players' Player of the Year award in 2018.
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But while James isn't doubting Salah's credentials, he believes Liverpool would still benefit as a whole if he left.
“I’ve said this before and it’s not that Mo Salah isn’t a great player, it’s just that Liverpool seem to look better without him on the field because there is more fluidity,” James added.
“When players can pop it around, it causes problems to defend.
“Players who pick the ball up and run with it, essentially you only have to stop them. That is what happens with Salah, even though he has scored eight goals [this season]."
