Liverpool: Pearce reveals verdict on Salah ‘U-turn’ as two new attackers ‘expected’ this summer | OneFootball

Liverpool expert James Pearce has revealed the club’s verdict on making a ‘U-turn’ on letting Mohamed Salah leave on a free transfer.

The Reds and Salah endured an incredibly disappointing 2025/26 campaign, as they ultimately decided that a summer exit is right for all parties.

Salah earned a new two-year contract at the end of last season after he arguably was the Premier League’s best player in Liverpool’s title campaign, but his form has fallen off a cliff this term.

The experienced forward’s age appears to have caught up with Salah, who was ineffective in most of his appearances this term and fell in the pecking order under Arne Slot.

Salah also publicly undermined Slot on numerous occasions before it was announced that he and the club have an agreement to let him leave on a free transfer this summer.

However, it has recently been claimed that Salah and Liverpool could perform a U-turn on his future following the sacking of Slot and the arrival of Andoni Iraola.

But Pearce, who is The Athletic’s Liverpool correspondent, has now insisted that there is ‘no chance’ of Salah remaining at Anfield beyond this summer.

Pearce explained: ‘No chance. Salah got the Anfield send-off he deserved at the end of the season after nearly nine years of outstanding service. All parties felt that it was the right time to go their separate ways, with Salah having initiated the talks that led to Liverpool agreeing to effectively rip up the final year of his contract in March.

‘Arne Slot’s subsequent exit and the appointment of Iraola changes nothing. Liverpool are focused on filling the Salah void this summer, and the Egyptian is weighing up his options as he prepares to embark on a new challenge at the age of 34.’

Two new attackers ‘expected’ for Liverpool this summer

Regarding incomings, Pearce claims the Reds are ‘expected’ to sign two new attackers with Yan Diomande and Bradley Barcola on their radar because  ‘Mohamed Salah having left, Federico Chiesa’s future uncertain and Hugo Ekitike recovering from a ruptured Achilles’.

He also points out that centre-midfield and right-back are also areas that ‘need to be addressed’, though ‘senior Liverpool sources insist’ Darwin Nunez is not in line for a return to Anfield.