Liverpool on red alert as Mohamed Salah 'replacement' may be sold in January amid relegation threat

Liverpool has been given a transfer boost after Lyon's owner admitted Rayan Cherki may leave the club . The French club is in disarray financially and has been handed a provisional relegation to Ligue 2.

Lyon will be demoted to the second tier at the end of the season if it does not improve its finances. A January transfer ban has also been placed on the former French champions.

The club is owned by co-owner John Textor, who was also linked with a takeover of earlier this year. Lyon is likely to have to slash its wage bill by around $57m by cashing on its prized assets in January.

Cherki is among them and reported this week that Liverpool has made an enquiry about the availability of the 21-year-old . He was heavily linked with Fulham last summer when he had just one year remaining on his deal.

The two clubs even agreed a fee worth $16m (€15m) but the deal fell through and Cherki ended up signing a new contract. That means Lyon's valuation has increased to around $26m (€25m) but the club may have little option but to cash in during the January window.

Textor held a press conference on Saturday to provide an update on the club's financial situation and admitted that Cherki ultimately holds all the cards with his future.

"We have too many players today. There are 29 of them and there should, ideally, be 23 or 24. We must decide who we want to keep," he said.

"We have an excess of superb players. 'The coach has almost impossible decisions to make. I hate rumors about which players to sell, it depends on the opportunities, the certainty is the abundance of players. With Rayan, we lost €15m but he has a great market value. He should stay in January but it will come down to his choice."

On the proposed relegation, a defiant Textor added: "We will not be relegated, there is no chance. 'I know that our situation makes some sceptics. I prefer the Premier League system which punishes clubs differently.

"We have resources that go well beyond the club. Even if we fail on all our global initiatives, of €700 million ($740m), our owners will not let the group sink. There is no chance of being relegated."