Update: Man City have to use Mo Salah Liverpool FC deal to their advantage News

Mo Salah is staying at Liverpool while Kevin De Bruyne is leaving Manchester City, so what will the Blues look like without their legend?

The Premier League can breathe a little easier knowing they will not be losing two of their best ever players in the same season. Kevin De Bruyne will be bidding farewell to Manchester City in a few weeks, yet Mohamed Salah has signed up for two more years with Liverpool.

Both stars headed into this campaign amid uncertainty over their futures, but their paths have gone very differently since. Liverpool under Arne Slot have become more reliant on the brilliance of Salah and he has rediscovered some of his best form, while De Bruyne has only got further from the peak of his powers.

That has gone some way to deciding the Premier League title, with Salah driving Liverpool to top spot while De Bruyne has been unable to stop City’s slump. Advantage Liverpool for next season then, with Salah signed up.

It’s impossible for any Blue to try and spin what has happened as a win for them, but De Bruyne going does give City’s recruitment team headroom on a wage bill that they have not had for some time. One of the top earners is now off the books, and another will surely follow in Kyle Walker.

One of the hidden upsides of Walker going in January was the wage bill. Much was made of the £175m spent by City in January and it is a large amount, but the four players they brought in barely added to the money on wages once Walker’s were deducted.

City can afford a premium replacement for De Bruyne because they have the financial headroom, allowing them to pick who they want to try and get a headstart on the big, bright future that is expected to come with their rebuild. Liverpool are reportedly paying Salah more money than they have ever paid anyone, meaning a wage bill that had already risen last season will surely go up again; bonuses for winning the league will also be required.

Guardiola and his players have had to take their medicine this season after falling from their usual standards, but the rebuild will at least be from the top of the squad down. City showed in January the profile of the type of players they are looking to bring in, and nobody they will sign in the summer will come close to touching the top earners.

That will give City some room to play with even once a few contract extensions are taken into account in order to sort out what their future looks like without De Bruyne. It doesn’t give them any advantage over Liverpool for next season, but it is at least an opportunity to move on while Slot’s side push for more of the same.

—