It was inevitable that Liverpool were going to have to replace Mohamed Salah, but after the 33-year-old signed a two-year contract last April, that moment has arrived quicker than anticipated.
Replacing a top player is one thing, but replacing a record-breaking club icon, with 255 goals and 119 assists in 435 matches, is a different story, even if Salah has suffered a considerable drop-off this season.
Liverpool are still adjusting to life with expensive additions such as Alexander Isak, Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz, who are all expected to play key roles for the club in the next five years. Ideally, the first two will take on the goalscoring responsibilities and the latter will provide the creativity. That reshaping will have to continue.
When it comes to finding Salah’s successor, two characteristics will surely be at the forefront of Liverpool’s minds: an ability to win one-on-one battles with their opposition defender consistently, and pace. Versatility and the right age profile (25 or under) will also be important, as will be the ability to perform high-intensity pressing and be aggressive out of possession.
Other factors must be considered, too, including the precarious position of head coach Arne Slot and his tactical vision (could Wirtz in behind two central attackers be the blueprint, as it was against Galatasaray?).
Liverpool entered the current season with only two senior wingers Slot was prepared to start, and it has backfired. Rio Ngumoha will continue to become a more prominent option next season, but Liverpool needed another winger this summer even if Salah had stayed, so the Egyptian’s departure would likely mean they need two. Where Liverpool finish in the league may also dictate targets and budgets, especially if they are unable to qualify for the Champions League.
With all that in mind, The Athletic assesses five options that Liverpool should be considering.
Michael Olise (Bayern Munich)
Olise would be the ideal signing to fill the attacking void left by Salah, even if his arrival must be deemed very unlikely.
The 24-year-old is only in his second season at Bayern Munich and there is no suggestion that he wishes to return from Germany any time soon, or that the club would be open to selling him. But in terms of quality, he is exactly the kind of player Liverpool should be targeting.
Few left-footed right-wingers are operating at a higher level: no player in Europe’s top five leagues has registered more assists than the 17 recorded by Olise, whose ability to drop a shoulder, dance between defenders, and provide a clinical output while running in top gear makes him a ‘unicorn’ player.
Pace, power, and a wicked shot when coming in on his left foot are all traits that Olise shares with Salah. His desire to score might not be on the same level as Salah’s, but he has averaged at least one goal or assist per game since moving to Germany from Crystal Palace in 2024.
When looking at those most similar to his playing profile across Europe, it is telling that Paris Saint-Germain’s Desire Doue and Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal — two of the brightest talents in Europe — share traits with Olise, as does teenage winger Yan Diomande, who has had a breakout season in Germany.
Yan Diomande (RB Leipzig)
Diomande would be among the longer-term investments, given he is just 19 years old, but he is also capable of delivering in the here and now.
The Ivory Coast international only moved to RB Leipzig from Leganes last summer, but is already causing a stir. As the graphic above highlights, Diomande likes to dribble… a lot. Only Victor Munoz (Osasuna), Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid) and Lamine Yamal (Barcelona) have clocked up more take-ons among all players in Europe’s top leagues — and as the graphic below shows, he can do so on either flank.
Diomande’s raw pace would be a much-needed asset for Liverpool, with the teenager’s top speed of 36.3km/hour putting him in the top three players in the Bundesliga this season.
‘Raw’ is also a fair assessment of his wider attributes. At 19, he is not expected to have the same output as Europe’s best, but a return of 10 goals and six assists is far from shabby. Much like Antoine Semenyo — who Liverpool previously coveted — Diomande is a player who can play off both feet, but there is a preference for his right foot when playing on the right flank.
Would that get a little clunky when factoring in a marauding Jeremie Frimpong on the outside? Maybe. There is little doubting Diomande’s individual quality, but how his profile fits within the wider alchemy of the team is also a key consideration. Leipzig would also be certain to demand a huge fee for a player with so much potential.
Rayan (Bournemouth)
It has been quite the rise for Rayan in the past 18 months, but those in Brazil have known of the teenager’s talent for some time.
At just 16 years and 169 days, Rayan became Vasco da Gama’s youngest player in the 21st century, steadily growing his minutes in Brazil’s Serie A until a 14-goal haul in 2025 earned him a move to Bournemouth.
Now 19, Rayan is still adjusting to English football, but there are signs of just how special he can be. While predominantly operating from the right wing, the Brazil international likes to use his pace and power to drive inside on his stronger left foot to arrive in central areas — putting him more in the category of a forward than a winger.
Questionable defending from Lucas Digne aside, Rayan’s opening Premier League goal is a perfect example of his ability to fast-track towards the box before getting a shot away.
Rayan is up and running in the @premierleague 🔥 pic.twitter.com/FV7USE9Ltm
— AFC Bournemouth 🍒 (@afcbournemouth) February 7, 2026
Throw in his strength and aerial ability — he is 6ft 2in (188cm) — and Rayan has the attributes to cut it at the highest level. There is versatility to his profile that could dovetail beautifully with Liverpool’s current front line, and Liverpool have good connections with Bournemouth, with their sporting director Richard Hughes having worked there previously and Milos Kerkez joining from the south-coast club last summer.
The sticking point is the widely reported €100million (£86m) release clause that Bournemouth inserted in the teenager’s contract. With the trajectory he is on, you can understand why.
Malick Fofana (Lyon)
There was plenty of Premier League interest in Fofana last summer as both Chelsea and Everton explored the possibility of signing him.
The 20-year-old ended up staying put at Lyon, the team he joined in January 2024 from Belgian side Gent for an initial €17m, but an injury-hit season prevented him from building on his breakout season in 2024-25.
He made his return to action in Lyon’s 2-0 defeat to Celta Vigo in the Europa League last week after suffering a serious ankle injury at the end of October, which required surgery.
Fofana made the left-wing spot his own in France, finishing the campaign with 11 goals and six assists in 41 appearances. He is comfortable using both feet, which would allow him to play on both flanks if required. He excels in one-v-one situations, using his quick feet and rapid acceleration to get past opposition full-backs.
Fofana is unlikely to command the type of fee others in this list would generate: there will be no Premier League premium, for one thing, while his lack of minutes means any signing would be more of a gamble.
Yankuba Minteh (Brighton)
Fresh from tormenting Liverpool in Brighton & Hove Albion’s 2-1 victory last weekend, Minteh is a player Slot knows well.
The pair worked together during the Dutchman’s final season at Feyenoord when the winger was on loan from Newcastle United. He scored 10 goals and provided five assists in 37 appearances as the Dutch side finished second in the Eredivisie and won the KNVB Cup.
Following that loan spell, the 21-year-old moved to Brighton from Newcastle for £30m and has shown plenty of promise. Minteh started the current campaign in excellent form before an injury saw him lose his place in the side until recently.
The left-footed winger is more at home playing on the right, but he showed his versatility when he tormented Frimpong from the left. He is very quick and a threatening progressive ball carrier in possession.
There is still plenty of room for improvement, and for him to be a success at Liverpool, he would need to improve on his record of two goals and four assists in 27 Premier League games this season, following six goals and four assists in 32 matches in 2024-25. When you consider he has the most goal involvements of any player aged under 21 over the last two seasons, though, the upside is clear.
Unsurprisingly for a young winger, his decision-making needs tidying up, as well as his impact out of possession, but if Slot continues as Liverpool manager, he will be well placed to help him improve.