Liverpool's plan to replace Mohamed Salah began to take shape last March when the Egyptian communicated his decision to leave during the international break. With Salah having been the club's top scorer in eight of nine seasons and rising to third on their all-time list, officials knew there was no quick fix.
The £320m Blueprint
In the summer of 2025, Liverpool brought in Hugo Ekitike, Florian Wirtz, and Alexander Isak for a combined £320m. This was the Salah succession plan in action, with the aim of adding another league title while the No.11 was still at the club under Arne Slot.
After Salah's exit was confirmed, it was decided that Isak, a British-record buy at £125m from Newcastle United, would shoulder most of the goalscoring burden. That still left a need for a decisive right winger, the role Salah made his own.
Pivot to Barcola
Sporting director Richard Hughes identified Yan Diomande as a star-in-the-making, but Liverpool were not alone in that assessment. They indicated to RB Leipzig in June they would pay up to £86m for the 19-year-old, but the Ivory Coast international was swayed by Paris Saint-Germain's interest.
Liverpool then pivoted to Bradley Barcola at PSG, thinking a deal might be easier if Diomande moved to Paris for a fee north of £100m. Real Madrid's emergence complicated matters, but Barcola made it clear he wasn't thinking about a new deal at Parc des Princes and would relish a move to Liverpool, ending any tentative interest from Arsenal.
Munoz and Minteh Misses
Early talks led new head coach Andoni Iraola to assess Osasuna's Victor Munoz, whose £34.5m release clause was triggered around a fortnight after Iraola arrived. Liverpool fended off interest, notably from Newcastle, to secure the Spain international.
Brighton's Yankuba Minteh saw two bids rejected, the highest at £60m. Sources hinted a deal could be resurrected, but when Cody Gakpo was not allowed to move to Manchester City after an £85m bid, Liverpool decided not to return for Minteh.
The Barcola Deal and Midfield Gamble
After weeks of negotiations involving FSG president Mike Gordon and PSG's Nasser Al-Khealifi, a breakthrough was made last week. The final £123m agreement paved the way for Barcola, a two-time Champions League winner and France international who turns 24 today.
Barcola will be the chief creator alongside Wirtz, loading the bullets for Isak alongside Ekitike when he returns. The loan for Barcelona's Ronald Araujo provides cover at centre-back, and 18-year-old Lucca Brughmans was signed for £30m from Genk, where he will stay for the season.
But the choice not to replace Curtis Jones, now of Inter, feels like the biggest roll of the dice. With Iraola favouring a two-man pivot, Liverpool have three senior players for those spots: Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, and Dominik Szoboszlai. Trey Nyoni is a teenager with potential, and Wataru Endo has barely featured in the Premier League these past two seasons.
In that sense, Liverpool might find their ambitions live or die based on the decision not to sign a midfielder. For all the excitement around Barcola dovetailing with Wirtz and Isak, it feels like an unnecessary gamble right now.
