The Search for Mohamed Salah’s Replacement | OneFootball

For years, Liverpool fans feared that the moment to say goodbye to their biggest star  in the modern era would come. Now the moment is here.

Mohamed Salah announced today that he will be leaving Liverpool Football Club at the end of the season. 

With the Egyptian’s contract ending in 2027, the news was surprising. But what was positively shocking is that Liverpool agreed to mutually terminate his contract come the end of the season. This means that Mo’ will leave as a free agent. 

Just a year ago, Saudi Arabia clubs reportedly made offers of around $115 million to take the Liverpool star. Salah would have been a marquee name in a list of a dozen or so of high-profile players already playing in their league, such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Sadio Mané, and more. 

But yet again, Liverpool stayed firm and rejected any approaches towards him. With that in mind, the least that the Reds could have expected to receive this  summer was an offer of $60-$67 million for his transfer. 

The club will need to provide an explanation for this ‘interesting’ decision at some point in the coming weeks. But for now, an even bigger question arises, one that won’t be easy to answer: who will become Salah’s replacement next season?

Who Is Not Coming For Sure

Michael Olise

One player that many fans have been calling for is Michael Olise. After his  incredible jump away from Crystal Palace, the French winger has settled in perfectly at Bayern Munich, becoming among their most valuable assets. He fits a perfect player prototype: just 24 years old, but also proven in the Premier League and the top European tournaments like Champions League.

Despite several outlets linking Liverpool with a move, the major issue with Olise is the length of his contract and the lack of a release clause in it. Bayern has all the cards in their hands, and no pressure at all for selling their star player, as his current deal runs until 2029.

If, and only if, Bayern Munich decided on selling Olise, then it would surely be for an astronomical figure. It would probably rise way above the $155 million that Liverpool paid for Florian Wirtz; or even the $167 million that they paid for Alexander Isak. My estimates lean somewhere around the $200–$250 million mark, a figure which obviously would put any (sane) club out of the race.

Rodrygo

Which brings us to the next player: Real Madrid’s Rodrygo. Normally, the Spanish media would consistently link a player of his caliber with an Anfield move. The Brazilian forward is 25 years old, has had a number of public spats with Real Madrid, but is expected to be sidelined for almost 10–12  months after tearing his ACL and meniscus in his right knee.  

Not only does that take him out of immediate contention, it is very unlikely we hear his name linked with a move to Liverpool any time in the future.

The Likely Option: Yan Diomande

The ‘Chosen One’ by the Liverpool board appears to be Ivory Coast forward Yan Diomande. The 19-year-old winger has had an explosive start to the season after RB Leipzig splashed nearly $23 million for his signature from Leganes.

This is a player who, not too long ago, was part of the MLS’ FC Dallas Youth Academy. Now he’s linked with a move to Liverpool for a reported $114 million fee.

Diomande has publicly stated that he would not be opposed to a move to Merseyside, especially because his father is a huge Liverpool fan who always admired and “raved about Steven Gerrard.”

Leipzig Need Revenue

Red Bull CEO of Corporate Projects & New Investments, Oliver Mintzlaff, went as far as publicly claiming that even though they don’t want to consider selling Yan Diomande after just one season, they need to generate revenue. Reports have added that if RB Leipzig fail to qualify for Champions League football next season, they will likely have to sell two star players in the summer to make the revenue shortfall.

This is an ideal situation for Liverpool. The top-winger market in Europe isn’t filled with strong options at the moment, so Diomande is a strong candidate.

One x-factor in this drama is former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp. The German, who currently serves as Red Bull’s Head of Global Soccer, had a huge part in RB Leipzig signing Diomande. Managing Director Marcel Schafer revealed that Klopp reviewed videos and data before giving them the green light on the 19-year-old starlet. Diomande also revealed that he and Klopp even speak “now and then.”

The Waiting Game

There are so many positives surrounding this potential transfer that it seems almost impossible to imagine a world where Yan Diomande does not sign for Liverpool.

Nevertheless, the summer transfer window is long. And there are many clubs with eyes set on the player. We don’t know whether Leipzig will start an auction on the player and wait for the highest bidder, or if they will sell immediately after a club triggers the quoted release clause.