Next Salah? Ranking 10 Liverpool options tipped to replace legendary winger | OneFootball

Replacing Mohamed Salah is going to be a tough task for Liverpool and could absolutely go horribly wrong, but the time is coming for a decision.

The final year of Salah’s contract is creeping up and talk of an escape to the Saudi Pro League will undoubtedly be back on the agenda. While Liverpool have never entertained the idea of accepting offers for Salah, this has been his least effective season. A decision on his future looks trickier this time around if big money is put on the table.

Salah found himself at odds with Arne Slot just before going to AFCON. From that point on, even if they have since got back on the same page, a departure from Liverpool in 2026 has been looking more likely.

All manner of players are being tipped as Liverpool’s ‘next Salah’ in the gossip columns as they start to shortlist potential replacements.

In truth, most would struggle to match his peak standards. But it’s something Liverpool will have to address one way or another in the not-too-distant future.

So, of the players they’ve been linked with – and some of those links are less realistic than others – who would actually be a worthy Salah successor? We’ve ranked the top 10.

10) Maghnes Akliouche (Monaco)

One of the more recent suggestions for a Salah successor, Akliouche recently reached 100 appearances in Ligue 1 for Monaco.

The 24-year-old has previously been linked with Tottenham (nobody deserves that), but Liverpool are also said to be in the frame.

Less of an out-and-out winger and more of a number 10 hybrid, Akliouche can count on his clever movement as one of his strengths rather than blistering pace, so his style would represent a big transition for Liverpool.

9) Yankuba Minteh (Brighton)

Minteh spent the 2023/24 season working with Arne Slot at Feyenoord while on loan from Newcastle, who then sold him to Brighton.

The 21-year-old has been decent if unspectacular on the south coast and still has a lot of untapped potential.

He would need to significantly improve his goalscoring ability to become worthy of succeeding Salah, but Slot is the coach to have inspired the most goals from him thus far in his career.

That could well be a moot point if Liverpool decide to part ways with their head coach.

Doue will almost certainly be off limits this summer due to PSG’s hard-line stance on his future if Liverpool or anyone else asks the question.

Capable of playing on either wing, the 20-year-old has a very bright future indeed, but PSG are in no mood to lose him.

Naturally right-footed, the opposite to Salah, he might not be the kind of specialist Liverpool would need. But that’s not to say he isn’t special.

For what it’s worth, Liverpool have also been linked with his PSG teammate Bradley Barcola, but he would be more for the opposite wing and is equally unlikely to be available.

7) Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United)

A favourite of former boss Jurgen Klopp, talk of Bowen ending up at Liverpool is quieter than it once was but has not been totally extinguished.

His future will hinge on West Ham’s fate in the relegation battle. It’s hard to see him being allowed to leave if they stay up, but Bowen is surely too good for the Championship.

Proven in the Premier League as a reliable finisher, Bowen might not be a long-term solution at 29.

6) Raphinha (Barcelona)

Remember when we said some links were less realistic than others? This is one of those.

The unreliable Fichajes was the source of a rumour a few months ago that Liverpool could go for Barcelona’s Raphinha in the summer.

We’ll take the relative silence from other sources since then as a sign that’s probably not going to happen.

Raphinha would be a hell of a replacement for Salah with his top-level ability, history in the Premier League and goalscoring ratios, but unless an exit from Barcelona starts to become realistic, he just isn’t worth getting excited about.

5) Yan Diomande (RB Leipzig)

Diomande has been all the rage this season over in the Bundesliga. Still only 19, he’s scored 10 league goals in his debut season with RB Leipzig.

That’s an encouraging return and it’s put Diomande on the radar of a number of clubs. According to our colleagues at TEAMtalk, Liverpool plan to make an early move for the Ivorian.

There’s logic behind going for someone like Diomande; he’d be a long-term investment who could even learn from Salah if the Egyptian stays.

But his cost might be prohibitive; with no release clause in his contract, there have been claims that RB Leipzig rate him in the €100m bracket.

At this stage, Liverpool shouldn’t be going anywhere near that price point. If they can negotiate his value down, he could be a smart pick-up, but it’s hard to justify a nine-figure fee just yet.

4) Nico Williams (Athletic Bilbao)

There’s just the nine years of remaining contract that Liverpool would have to buy out if they were serious about signing Williams.

The Spaniard’s name has been mentioned in the same breath as Salah exit reports, but Athletic Bilbao weren’t messing about when they locked him down last summer.

At a bigger club, Williams might look more dangerous- just like he can be for Spain – but he is generally preferred on the left. That said, he spent a lot of time on the right wing in his first couple of seasons in Athletic’s first team.

3) Moussa Diaby (Al-Ittihad)

After a couple of years in Saudi Arabia, the time seems right for Diaby to challenge himself in Europe again.

He did enough in his sole season with Aston Villa to suggest there should be more to come from him in the Premier League. At the age of 26, it’s not too late.

Diaby could become an opportunity for clubs if he decides to leave Al-Ittihad in the summer.

2) Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United)

Gordon primarily plays on the left wing, not the right, but isn’t completely alien to the latter role and has regularly been touted as a potential Salah successor.

A boyhood Liverpool fan whose past as an Everton player would gleefully be overlooked by all parties, Gordon is at an exciting stage of his career with Newcastle.

His exploits in the Champions League this season have helped him to the highest-scoring campaign of his career, with 15 goals in all competitions so far.

At the age of 25 – the same age Salah was when he joined Liverpool from Roma – Gordon is on an upwards trajectory. Newcastle would strongly oppose his exit, but if Liverpool can get their hands on him, he could become a difference-maker at Anfield.

But he may be best suited as a replacement for the much-maligned Cody Gakpo rather than Salah.

1) Michael Olise (Bayern Munich)

Olise has coped admirably with the step-up from Crystal Palace to Bayern Munich, scoring double figures of goals in both his seasons so far. His assists record is even better.

The France international ticks a lot of boxes; he has Premier League experience and has also proved himself with an elite club. What’s more, at the age of 24, he still has plenty of potential to get even better.

Olise is left footed and usually cuts in from the right-hand side like Salah, which has allowed him to be so efficient with his goal contributions for Bayern.

Bayern are likely to make it hard to prise Olise away, so he might be off limits for now.

And that’s the reality Liverpool may face for most of their ideal Salah replacement targets. They signed him as a calculated risk at £36.5m and saw him blossom into a player worth far more, even rejecting £150m for him in 2023.

The pressure will be on to find a replacement for Salah who’s a similar standard to him, but it’s going to take a whole lot of negotiating.