Arne Slot and Richard Hughes planning €100m attacking revolution | OneFootball

Liverpool will be waving goodbye to Mohamed Salah on Sunday. The Egyptian King departs Anfield after nine glorious years - having reached an agreement to rip up his £400k per week contract one year early.

And focus now turns on which player will come to Merseyside in order to replace the two-time African footballer of the year. And it looks like we can rule out an exact stylistic match.

There are very few players out there who can replicate what Salah was doing at his peak. And those linked with a similar profile - left-footed, creative, prone to cutting inside - are unlikely to be signed for various reasons.

Jarrod Bowen is perhaps a little too old now - especially given West Ham’s valuation - and Michael Olise is unattainable. Others associated with an Anfield move such as Yankuba Minteh and Dario Osorio would be coming in with an awful lot to prove.

For those reasons and more we should expect Liverpool to move away from that Salah - Messi - Olise - Robben type of attacker.

Right-footed right winger to get the best out of Isak

Arne Slot drew ridicule earlier in the season when he suggested Alexander Isak was missing a player like Jacob Murphy at Newcastle.

How could the Dutchman be talking about an unheralded player like Murphy to explain away Isak’s lack of impact for the Reds?

Well for one Murphy’s remit was to get the ball across to Isak from his right-wing station. And as a right-footed right winger - who in fairness can put the ball on a sixpence - there may be some truth to the matter.

Then we saw reports emerge that Liverpool were considering other right-footed right wingers - in the case of Bradley Barcola and Franck Honorat.

Again this makes sense if you want to replicate the kind of environment £125m man Isak had at St. James’ Park. Liverpool will require a winger to get down the sides and put balls into the box for Isak next season - and it’s clear that Salah wouldn’t be the man for that.

Which brings us to Yan Diomande.

Attacking revolution starts with Diomande signing

Tempting as it is to describe the 19-year-old Ivorian as an inverted left-winger - he’s played there plenty for RB Leipzig - he is far more effective on the right.

Of course he CAN play on the left - cutting inside for shots at goal and treading passes through to his centre forward. But his numbers and his performances stack up far better from the right.

He’s got 12 goals and six assists for the Red Bulls starting on the right - in 22 Bundesliga games. From the left it’s three assists in 10 - with zero goals.

And now comes the news from David Ornstein that Diomande is a leading target to replace Salah.

This means big changes are coming to Liverpool under Arne Slot next season. He’s bemoaned a lack of explosive, one-v-one quality in his side. Salah and his deputy Federico Chiesa just aren’t quite right for what he has in mind. But Diomande fits like a glove.

Liverpool grew their international renown with a much-vaunted front three in the shape of Roberto Firmino, Salah and Sadio Mane. Some fans cling to the notion that perhaps this set-up might be replicated under Jurgen Klopp’s successor.

But that’s not going to happen.

Traditional wingers back in fashion

You won’t see Isak acting as a “false 9” nor will you see Diomande doing his best Salah impression from the right. This will be a very different, very direct and extremely potent attack - provided Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes can get the job done.

David Ornstein claims that once an agreement is in place with Diomande then club-to-club talks can begin. Leipzig want €100m for their star turn and Paris Saint-Germain are of course lying in wait.

The European champions have shown through the signings of Barcola, Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia what is possible with genuine right-footed wingers in the ranks.

It’s no surprise they are linked with Diomande and of course given his admiration for PSG it’s no surprise either that Slot is following suit.

There is a long way to go before the emerging African star’s future is decided and he may even be persuaded to stay another year.

But Liverpool have sent out the warning; they are not seeking to replace Mo Salah in a conventional sense. They are taking a step forward with an attacking revolution.