Liverpool need a striker overhaul and cannot keep relying on Mohamed Salah for goals, writes LEWIS STEELE

The setting is a convention centre down the road from Fenway Park, the home of the Boston Red Sox, on a cheerful spring afternoon.

An unassuming gentleman in jeans and a hoodie is chatting to all manner of folk and the gist is that whatever happens, he is happy in his job and will not be leaving.

That man is Michael Edwards, a private individual who is as important to the success of Liverpool in the last decade as Jurgen Klopp and Mohamed Salah. A man so private that just about the only available picture of him is from a JustGiving page when he ran a marathon for charity in 2019.

But despite telling people he was not quitting his role leading the data consultancy firm Ludonautics, he was considering taking the top job in football operations at Fenway Sports Group. And after talks in Boston that week, he was handed the keys to Liverpool, which was confirmed a year ago yesterday.

Edwards watched from the posh seats as Liverpool crashed out of the Champions League to Paris Saint-Germain. He was sitting alongside the man he hired as sporting director, Richard Hughes, who in turn recruited Arne Slot, when many did not consider the Feyenoord boss a viable candidate.

Given the quality of the PSG team who knocked out Liverpool, their exit was no disgrace. After all, Hughes and Slot, whose offices are side by side in Liverpool’s Kirkby HQ, have overseen a season beyond most fans’ wildest dreams.

The Egyptian has been involved in 64 per cent of Liverpool’s Premier League goals this season

Liverpool’s other forwards have scored a combined 27 goals in the Premier League this season

It was the hiring of Edwards that gave many supporters faith the post-Klopp era would be smooth and the club’s short-term future was in safe hands.

But what Edwards and Hughes will have observed is that their work over the next five months, up to the end of the summer transfer window, will shape whether this Liverpool side are one-season wonders, or if they are ready to build a dynasty.

With a prolific striker, for example, would Liverpool have beaten PSG? It would be hard to argue with that supposition if you imagine Alexander Isak, Matheus Cunha or even Liam Delap leading the line, to pick three strikers who could be on the market this summer.

There were times on Tuesday when Salah was let down by his attacking colleagues. He was beavering away creatively but none of Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo could apply the finish.

Gakpo is coming back from an injury and is not fully fit, while Jota does not seem to trust his body after a number of breakdowns in the last three years.

The other two, however, face uncertain futures. Liverpool have six forwards, but how many can they rely on to be consistent goalscorers? The answer is one and that player, Salah, is out of contract in three months.

Federico Chiesa, the only signing of the Slot-Hughes era, has played 25 Premier League minutes since joining last summer.

That is a clear area to improve if Liverpool are to push on in Europe’s premier competition. Gakpo will stay, but what about the other five? Nunez has interest from Saudi Arabia, the Spanish press are linking Diaz with Barcelona, Jota’s injury record is worrying and Chiesa cannot get a sniff.

Meanwhile, Salah has matched that tally by himself and scored 27 goals in the Premier League 

And what if Salah stays but, after turning 33 in June, cannot replicate his record-breaking season? The Egyptian is the best player in the league — if not the world — this year, but cannot be relied on for ever.

It is these cut-throat decisions that will earn Edwards and Hughes their corn. In the past, Edwards cared little for loyalty and many trusted servants were replaced with younger talents.

Yet the forward line is not the only issue for Liverpool’s top brass to address this summer. Virgil van Dijk admitting he has ‘no idea’ where he will be in August raised eyebrows, to say the least, while Real Madrid are confident they can tempt Trent Alexander- Arnold to join them.

FSG have a policy of not extending the contracts of players over a certain age, but if there is a set of circumstances that warrants a change of policy, it is surely for Salah and Van Dijk.

At the FSG-owned Red Sox, star man Mookie Betts was not offered a good enough new deal when he turned a certain age and was allowed to leave. He won two baseball World Series elsewhere.

Whether Salah and Van Dijk will sign up is a murky subject. Both are frustrated at the lack of progress. Offers are on the table, but neither has accepted.

Another problem area is left back, although Andy Robertson was Liverpool’s best player against PSG. The Scot turned 31 on Tuesday and his deputy, Kostas Tsimikas, does not feel like a long-term replacement.

Liverpool have been scouring the market for the man to fill the void once Robertson leaves and Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez is one to watch, as is Jorrel Hato of Ajax.

There is heavy external interest in Liverpool’s attacking players, especially Darwin Nunez

Ryan Gravenberch has enjoyed a great season in defensive midfield, but looked leggy against PSG. If he or Alexis Mac Allister suffered a long-term injury, the midfield would be light.

To criticise this Liverpool team is harsh given the season Slot has overseen.

They will win the title at a canter, but if they are to defend the crown next season and go a step further in Europe, they need to overhaul several areas.