When Jurgen Klopp announced his decision to leave Liverpool, it was met with universal sadness. Just how on earth were they going to replace the German?
Well, the same feeling is now held towards Mohamed Salah who on Tuesday night announced that he would be leaving Anfield behind at the end of the season.
Salah came close to exiting Merseyside last summer but eventually signed a contract to the tune of £400k-per-week to remain in a red shirt.
Well, the end is now nigh. He’s the fourth top-scorer in Premier League history and trying to replace a player of that calibre will be pretty impossible. Still, Fenway Sports Group will try their best.
How Liverpool could replace Mo Salah
FSG threw the kitchen sink at the last summer transfer window, notably welcoming Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak to Anfield for lavish fees.
While that’s not totally worked out, they will have to dip their hands into their pockets again in a bid to entice an exciting Salah replacement to the Premier League.
20 Best Wingers in Premier League History
Where does Mohamed Salah rank in the greatest Premier League wide men?
A whole host of names will no doubt be touted between now and when the eventual heir arrives, but the early feeling is that Liverpool’s dream target is Bayern Munich winger Michael Olise.
That said, he’s in the form of his life in Germany and it seems unlikely that he’d be heading back to English football anytime soon. He only moved to the Bundesliga in the summer of 2024 from Crystal Palace.
Speaking of the German top-flight, Liverpool could look elsewhere in that nation if reports are to be believed, with eyes being cast in the direction of Yan Diomande.
Football FanCast exclusively reported in February that they had been in regular talks with the player’s camp and were ‘close’ to agreeing personal terms. A source admitted that they “think this is the future best winger in the world and are willing to go near their transfer record again to make it happen this summer.”
New reports from the Daily Mail’s Lewis Steele corroborate those claims. Steele claims that Liverpool have ‘made contact with agents’ as they monitor a host of replacements for Salah, including RB Leipzig’s Diomande and PSG’s Bradley Barcola. The former is said to be a ‘long-term’ target of the club.
|
Diomande vs Olise – 2025/26 Bundesliga |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Stat (per 90 mins) |
Diomande |
Olise |
|
Goals |
0.5 |
0.6 |
|
Shots |
1.5 |
2.7 |
|
Shot accuracy |
71% |
72% |
|
Conversion rate |
32% |
19% |
|
Assists |
0.3 |
0.8 |
|
Chances created |
2.1 |
3.3 |
|
Take-ons completed |
4.2 |
2.4 |
|
Take-ons success |
58% |
43% |
|
Duels won |
6.8 |
5.9 |
This move, while not cheap, should be easier to complete considering the player himself admitted last year that he’s a “big Liverpool fan”, revealing that “I want to play for Liverpool.”
Why Diomande would be an exceptional Salah replacement
It’s safe to say that Diomande is one of the most exciting young forwards in European football right now.
Just 19 years of age, this has been a breakthrough campaign for the Ivorian who has netted 11 goals and supplied eight assists in 29 matches across all competitions.
Hailed as a “generational talent” by Reds reporter Bence Bocsak and a “Sadio Mane” regen by Liverpool podcast Top of the Kop, Diomande has been attracting the interest not just as a result of his goal and assist count.
Indeed, so far this season, no player in the entire Bundesliga has registered more successful dribbles than Diomande. In fact, the young forward is streets ahead of anyone else with 4.2 per 90 minutes. To put that number into some greater context, the next best is his teammate at Leipzig in Antonio Nusa who has completed 3.3 per 90.
Immediately, you start to get a feel for not just why the teenager has been compared to Mane but why he’d be a fabulous replacement for the departing Salah.
While there is some way to go for him to reach some of the numbers the great Egyptian has racked up over the years, there is a belief that Diomande is more than on his way to greatness.
Just like Salah, he’s got the ability to create something out of nothing. Per DataMB, he ranks in the top 3% of wingers in Europe’s big five leagues this season for progressive carries, also ranking in the top 8% for successful dribbles and in the best 6% for key passes (chance creation).
This is a captivating talent, someone who not only influences games through his goalscoring but also through his ball carrying, trickery and ability to create chances for his teammates.
Salah has been one of the best in history at doing precisely that and if Diomande can live up to even a fraction of the Liverpool number 11s skillset, he will prove to be a mighty fine signing.
Fabrizio Romano shares huge Mohamed Salah twist after Liverpool exit confirmed
The Anfield legend will wave goodbye this summer.