He’s like Mane: Liverpool make proposal to sign “one of Europe’s best wingers”

How on earth do Liverpool replace a player of Mohamed Salah’s quality? The fact of the matter is you don’t.

The Egyptian may well have been off the pace during his final campaign at Anfield but even when he departs Merseyside for good, he will leave a hole behind.

Forget all of the records Salah has broken for a moment. Despite his poor individual season, the winger still has 12 goals and nine assists in all competitions this term.

Combine the absence of that return next season with Hugo Ekitike’s injury and new recruits are certainly needed this summer.

Richard Hughes and Co know that and a shortlist of players has already been drawn up.

Exciting winger wants Liverpool move

As the Reds pursue a replacement for the great Salah, it has drawn them to a number of names, including RB Leipzig winger Yan Diomande.

The teenager has enjoyed a phenomenal breakthrough campaign in Germany, netting 13 times and supplying nine assists. Football FanCast revealed a few months ago that an agreement on personal terms is close while separate reports have indicated that club-to-club talks could soon begin.

Diomande is not the only exciting wide player on their radar. Indeed, the name of Bradley Barcola keeps popping up in recent weeks.

Some reports have suggested that Liverpool have already held talks over signing the winger from PSG and now fresh claims from Le 10 Sport in France suggest a move could well be developing.

According to their sources, Liverpool made a strong push to sign the player last summer and they are now attempting to do the same one year on.

It’s suggested that the Anfield side are now more insistent than ever on signing the French attacker. In a boost for Arne Slot and Co, it’s revealed that Barcola is actually keen on the move, said to be ‘clearly interested’ in the ‘proposal’ that Liverpool have put forward to him and his camp.

Why Barcola could be Liverpool’s new Sadio Mane

Since Sadio Mane left for Bayern Munich, it’s safe to say that Liverpool have had mixed success when it comes to sourcing a replacement.

The less said about Federico Chiesa the better, but Luis Diaz did threaten to showcase why he could be the next Mane during his time in England.

Like Liverpool’s great winger of the past, Diaz left for Bayern last summer, doing so after a season in which he scored 13 goals and registered seven assists. That, however, was some way behind the Senegalese’s best seasonal tally at Anfield of 26 goals. In fact, in four of his six years in Merseyside, he hit over 20 goals.

Gakpo has also threatened to roll back the years to the days of Mane but he’s been below par for a considerable period of time now. Indeed, the Dutchman has just two goals in his last 16 Premier League outings.

Slot may well have Rio Ngumoha coming through the ranks, but in Barcola, they could solve their problems on the left wing while potentially even sealing a replacement for Salah.

The 23-year-old is predominantly a left winger, featuring 30 times from that position this term, but he has also played on the right wing on six occasions in 2025/26.

Barcola has had a reduced role at PSG this term due to the form of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Desire Doue but he’s still made a fine impact, scoring 12 and notching seven assists.

It was during the 2024/25 season that he really cemented himself as one of the finest wide players around, scoring 21 goals and supplying the same number of assists for the Champions League winners. Now, we can really start to see where the Mane comparisons come from.

Hailed as “one of the best left wingers in Europe” by Como scout Ben Mattinson, Barcola possesses a similar direct dribbling style to Mane. He’s got brilliant close control and can explode past a defender with pace and trickery.

This season, the French superstar has completed as many as 1.91 dribbles per game. For context, when Liverpool won the league in 2019/20, Mane completed 2.26.

A daring dribbler, a goalscorer and a regular assister, there really is every reason to believe that Barcola could be Liverpool’s new Mane if he moved this summer. That’s an incredibly exciting thought.