• Liverpool wanted to sign three players ahead of Mohamed Salah in 2017 
• The decision to bring in the prolific winger proved to be an inspired move 
• Does Mo Salah regret not leaving Liverpool last summer? Is he now risking tarnishing his Liverpool career? Listen to the podcast 

Mohamed Salah is enduring a difficult time at present, with the Liverpool winger having been involved in a heated spat with manager Jurgen Klopp during the 2-2 draw at West Ham.

Salah cut a frustrated figure as he prepared to enter the fray at London Stadium, but it cannot be denied that overall his Liverpool career has been hugely successful.

The Egypt international joined Liverpool from Roma in 2017 for an initial fee of £36.5million. 

Since then, Salah has scored a remarkable 210 goals in 346 appearances for the Reds, putting him in fifth place on the club's all-time goalscoring list.

Salah has won an array of trophies during his time at Liverpool, including the Premier League, the Champions League, the FA Cup and the League Cup. 

However, as reported by The Times, Salah was only Liverpool's fourth-choice option when they brought him in, as the club had listed Christian Pulisic, Julian Draxler and Julian Brandt ahead of him with regards to their transfer targets.

Here's an assessment of how each player has fared in the ensuing period.

 

Christian Pulisic

The United States international caught the eye at Borussia Dortmund, which earned him a move to Chelsea for £58million in 2019.

Pulisic impressed in his first season at Stamford Bridge, especially during lockdown, and was nominated for the Premier League Young Player of the Season award, which went to Trent Alexander-Arnold.

In the following season he was part of the Chelsea side that won the Champions League, which included him scoring away to Real Madrid in the first leg of the semi-final.

Pulisic endured problems with injuries during his time at Chelsea and eventually joined AC Milan last year. He has scored 13 goals and provided eight assists across all competitions for Milan this season.

He has continued to make an impact on the international stage with the United States, winning the CONCACAF Nations League three times. 

 

Julian Draxler

Draxler received much hype as a youngster and was part of Germany's World Cup-winning squad in 2014, but he has endured many problems with injury. 

Liverpool had identified Draxler as a potential signing but they ended up turning to Salah after the German signed for Paris Saint-Germain in January 2017.

During his time at PSG, Draxler won an array of trophies, including four league titles.

Following a loan spell at Benfica, he joined Qatari side Al Ahli last year.

He has seemingly fallen out of the reckoning for Germany, having not featured for his country since March 2022.

 

Julian Brandt

Brandt was at Bayer Leverkusen when Liverpool expressed an interest in signing him but he ended up staying until 2019, when he signed for Jurgen Klopp's former club Borussia Dortmund.

Part of the Dortmund side that won the DFB-Pokal in the 2020-21 campaign, Brand has played 210 times for the club and has scored 39 goals, while he has provided 48 assists.

Brandt has played for Germany on 47 occasions and has scored three goals. He was part of the squad that won the Confederations Cup in 2017.