5 Players Liverpool Are Targeting to Replace Mohamed Salah This Summer

Mohamed Salah is leaving. It is confirmed, it is final, and Liverpool now face one of the hardest transfer tasks in English football.

Over 350 goal contributions in 440 games. A Premier League record scorer. The most important player at Anfield for nearly a decade. No single signing replaces that. Anyone who tells you otherwise is not being honest. But football moves on, and Arne Slot’s side need to find the closest thing they can.

These are the five names Liverpool are working through right now.

1. Bradley Barcola — PSG (France)

Age: 23

This is the one that makes the most sense on paper. Barcola has been PSG’s best player in Ligue 1 this season, finishing as the club’s top scorer in the league with 11 goals and adding an assist tally that proves he is more than just a finisher. He plays on the left at PSG but has shown the ability to operate from the right, which is the position Liverpool need to fill.

At 23, he is entering the years where a player’s output tends to peak. He already has a Champions League winners medal, a Ligue 1 title, and the Champions League Final to come against Arsenal on May 30 to further show what he can do on the biggest stage.

Reports out of France suggest Barcola is keen on a move to the Premier League, and Liverpool are believed to be his preferred destination. PSG will not let him leave cheaply. Journalist Christian Falk confirmed PSG would not consider selling for less than €100 million, around £87 million, with other reports placing the figure between £80 million and £87 million depending on who bids. With Arsenal also in the race, Liverpool face a serious financial test to get this one done.

But of all the names on this list, Barcola is the one that gets closest to what Salah gave Liverpool. Pace, directness, goals, and the mentality of a big-game player. He is the priority target, and rightly so.

2. Yan Diomande — RB Leipzig (Germany)

Age: 19

If Barcola is the safe choice, Diomande is the exciting one.

The Ivory Coast international just completed his first Bundesliga season and was named Rookie of the Year, succeeding Michael Olise who won it the season before. He scored 12 goals and provided 8 assists in 33 appearances for Leipzig, which is a remarkable return for a teenager playing in one of Europe’s toughest leagues. Leipzig finished third in the Bundesliga. Diomande was a significant reason why.

What stands out about him beyond the numbers is how he plays. He is aggressive, he presses, he creates from nothing. He completed 106 dribbles this season, the most in the Bundesliga, with only Lamine Yamal managing more across Europe’s top five leagues. At 19, he is nowhere near his ceiling yet.

Liverpool have already held talks with his representatives and Diomande has made clear he is open to moving to Anfield. Personal terms are not expected to be a problem. The issue is the fee. RB Leipzig are demanding €100 million, around £87 million, and have made clear they will not budge easily. They are also trying to tie him down to a new contract before agreeing any sale, specifically to remove any release clause and keep full control of the negotiations.

The Athletic confirmed Liverpool are firm contenders, with PSG also in the picture. But the £87 million asking price is being described by multiple sources as excessive for a teenager with one senior season behind him. Liverpool’s reporter at the Telegraph noted the club have done due diligence but no decision has been made to launch a formal move at that valuation.

The risk is obvious. He is 19 and has one senior season at this level. The Premier League is a different environment entirely. But if Liverpool can negotiate the fee down, or structure the deal with bonuses and installments, Diomande remains their clear priority.

3. Francisco Trincao — Sporting CP (Portugal)

Age: 26

Here is the name that has genuinely surprised people. Trincao had a difficult spell at Barcelona and a forgettable loan at Wolves that most people wrote off as a career that never quite delivered on its early promise. He joined Sporting permanently in 2023 for just £6 million. What happened next is the story worth paying attention to.

This season he scored 13 goals and provided 18 assists in Sporting’s league campaign. Those 18 assists are the most in Liga Portugal this season. For context, that is more than double what Salah managed in the Premier League this term.

Liverpool have reportedly taken concrete steps towards signing him. His release clause is set at £52 million, which gives interested clubs a clear number to work with. Chelsea are also circling, and Sporting know their player’s value has risen sharply.

What Liverpool like about him is his versatility. He can play on either wing or through the middle. He creates as much as he scores. One former Benfica and Portugal international compared him to Neymar in terms of unpredictability, which is a bold comparison, but it gives you a sense of the ceiling his admirers believe he has.

Whether he can do it in the Premier League after failing to convince at two of Europe’s biggest clubs is a genuine question. But the numbers at Sporting are impossible to ignore.

4. Anthony Gordon — Newcastle United (England)

Age: 25

This one is personal. Gordon grew up as a Liverpool supporter. He was released by the club as an 11-year-old. He has never hidden the fact that playing for Liverpool is something he has dreamed about.

He almost got there in 2024. A move was close, PSR rules complicated it, and it did not happen. He admitted afterwards that it affected him badly. He had to mentally prepare to leave, and then had to mentally undo that when the transfer collapsed. By his own words, it was genuinely difficult.

This season he scored 18 goals across all competitions for Newcastle, including 10 in their Champions League run, which was one of the standout individual European campaigns by an English player this season. In the Premier League alone, 6 goals and 2 assists from 26 appearances, but his influence went well beyond those numbers.

Bayern Munich are leading the race for his signature and have already entered direct club-to-club talks with Newcastle. Newcastle’s asking price is £75 million to £80 million, with Bayern valuing him closer to £55 million, which is a gap that has not yet been bridged. Arsenal are also long-standing admirers. Liverpool are still in the conversation but are currently third in the queue behind Bayern and Arsenal.

The issue is price and competition. If Bayern match Newcastle’s valuation, Liverpool may struggle to outbid them. But if Gordon has any say in where he ends up, Anfield cannot be ruled out.

5. Jarrod Bowen — West Ham United (England)

Age: 29

This is the most straightforward option on the list. Not the most exciting, not the most expensive, but perhaps the most ready.

Bowen has 10 goals and 11 assists in 41 appearances for West Ham this season. He has 84 goals and 62 assists in 277 games for the club in total. He is experienced, proven, Premier League-tested, and English, which matters for squad homegrown rules.

Michael Owen backed him publicly on talkSPORT, saying: “If West Ham went down, he would be my idea of somebody to replace Salah. He is a real top finisher and I think he is absolutely brilliant.”

The complication is West Ham’s situation. If they survive relegation, they have made clear they have no intention of selling. If they go down, their financial position changes completely and Liverpool could potentially move quickly.

At 29, Bowen is not a long-term solution to the Salah problem. He is entering the final years of his peak. But for a club that needs an immediate, reliable option while the younger targets like Diomande develop, he makes a lot of sense as part of a broader rebuilding plan.

The Bigger Picture

Liverpool are not looking for one player to be Salah. They are looking for multiple players to collectively do what Salah did alone. That is a smarter way to approach an impossible task, and it suggests the club understand the scale of what they are losing.

Barcola is the dream. Diomande is the future. Trincao is the wildcard. Gordon is the emotional story. Bowen is the practical answer.

Arne Slot and Richard Hughes will not get all five. But if they get the right two or three, Liverpool will be fine.