Who Will Be Liverpool’s Top Scorer During Mohamed Salah’s Absence?

It’s tough shoes to step into but someone’s going to have to do it while Mohamed Salah attempts to lead Egypt to glory in the Africa Cup of Nations.

The Egyptian could be absent for a month should Egypt make a long run in the tournament and if that’s the case, Liverpool will need their attackers to massively step up as they continue to compete in four fronts this season, the Premier League, Europa League, EFL Cup, and the FA Cup.

Salah has 14 goals in the Premier League this season - currently joint-top scorer with Erling Haaland - and has 18 goals in all competitions. That figure is double of Liverpool’s second top scorer which is Diogo Jota with nine goals.

Liverpool have arguably the best collection of attackers in Europe and now is the time to show off their quality without having Salah to bail them out.

Who do you think will be Liverpool’s top scorer during Mohamed Salah’s absence between Diogo Jota and Darwin Núñez?

Diogo Jota

The Portuguese attacker was a much-missed aspect of Liverpool’s squad during his injury earlier this season.

The 27-year-old has averaged essentially a goal a game this season and has clocked only 1,079 minutes of action which demonstrates just how effective he is.

Since missing five league games, he’s scored once and assisted three goals in just three games, contributing to wins against Burnley, Newcastle, and most recently Arsenal.

With Salah away on international duty, Jota will not only start more games but have more opportunities to score on the pitch, opportunities he is far more likely to score than miss.

Darwin Núñez

The answer to this question could easily be Darwin Núñez but his lack of a finishing edge gives you doubt on whether he can ever become a consistent goalscorer for Liverpool.

The Uruguayan has missed almost 30 big chances since joining Liverpool and while he’s a fan favourite, some are growing tired of his inability to tuck away gilt-edge opportunities.

He’s scored eight goals this season with five coming in the Premier League and one goal in the Europa League.

Should he be placed on penalties while Salah is away, that could not only bolster his goal stats but give him the confidence to begin putting away chances on a more consistent basis.

Núñez has all the attributes to be a top-class goalscorer but must be more composed in front of goal if he ever wants to fulfil his potential.

Between Jota and Núñez, who leads Liverpool in scoring during the absence of Mohamed Salah?