There is surely no way back for Mohamed Salah at Liverpool in the wake of his very public outburst against the club and head coach Arne Slot. The Reds could be positioning themselves for a big-money sale, while the Saudi Pro League's powers that be have effectively confirmed that they will do their damnedest to take the Egyptian King to the Middle East. Now, the Premier League champions must look to the future.
Having accused the club of 'throwing him under the bus' and revealing that his relationship with Slot is now non-existent, Salah's glittering Anfield era appears to be drawing to a sorry end. Whether that is in January or the summer remains to be seen, but it's becoming increasingly clear that the Reds must enact their succession plan.
As the dust settles in the aftermath of the 33-year-old's incendiary outburst, it has been reported that Liverpool have no intention of giving their talisman a big send-off at Anfield in his final game before he heads to the Africa Cup of Nations, as they look to protect their negotiating position by not making an event of his exit. Indeed, Slot offered no guarantee he will even play against Brighton on Saturday in what may be his last-ever match for the club.
While it's said Liverpool don't want to sell, Saudi Pro League chiefs have once again made it abundantly clear that they want to buy, and it seems like a matter of time before an offer arrives. With Salah's future now untenable, the club must now plan ahead – but who could step into the void? Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo has emerged as one serious possibility this week, although the Reds would face stiff competition from Manchester City and Tottenham and his form has dipped in recent weeks. We've looked in depth at the Ghanaian's potential arrival here.
If that move failed, then what are the alternatives? Below, GOAL assesses the Merseysiders' options…
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Johan Bakayoko (RB Leipzig)
Probably an outsider in this succession contest, Bakayoko has long been rumoured to be a target for Liverpool since breaking through at PSV Eindhoven – even pronouncing in January 2025 that he could "definitely join" the Reds after a Champions League goal against them. However, those links have gone quiet of late and the Belgian has since taken the next step in his career.
The winger joined RB Leipzig in the summer in what seems like a classic stepping-stone move, but after a fast start he has faded and now finds himself reduced to a bit-part role in eastern Germany. It would be little surprise if the Reds were still monitoring him, and he could represent a cheaper, short-term fix if Salah departs as early as January.
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Bradley Barcola (PSG)
There was a sense that Barcola was 'the other winger' at Paris Saint-Germain last season, with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Desire Doue hogging the limelight as the French giants surged to that elusive first-ever Champions League crown. His status as third-choice wide man in the French capital led to genuine links with Liverpool back in the summer, and those have now resurfaced with Salah's future in serious doubt.
However, Doue's injury problems in the opening months of 2025-26 have enabled Barcola to reclaim a starting berth, and the fact that his team-mate still hasn't returned to action as the January transfer window approaches pretty much rules out the possibility of an exit in the New Year. That said, the Reds may well have done the groundwork for a summer deal that would cost north of €100 million (£88m/$117m).
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Yan Diomande (RB Leipzig)
A big reason why the aforementioned Bakayoko has struggled for game time of late, Diomande has been a revelation for Leipzig this season. Signing the Ivorian looks like a typically shrewd piece of business by the Red Bull Group; the 19-year-old cost just €20m (£17.5m/$23.5m) when he arrived from Leganes in the summer, and the Bundesliga club already look set to make a handsome profit on their investment.
Head coach Ole Werner's decision to switch Diomande from the left to the right flank in October has proven to be transformative, yielding a ridiculous goal involvements in his last seven games, including a second-half hat-trick against Frankfurt. A rapid, dazzling dribbler who clearly has an eye for goal, the young Ivorian could be the ideal long-term successor to Salah – but Leipzig will be in no rush to let him go.
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Dango Ouattara (Brentford)
One of the unsung stars of the Premier League season so far, Ouattara has given Brentford bang for their buck following his club-record £42.5m ($57m) move from Bournemouth in the summer. The versatile Burkina Faso attacker has been instrumental in his side's unexpected surge up the table under Keith Andrews in the first half of the season, racking up a combined seven goals and assists at the time of writing, despite missing the opening two games of the campaign through injury.
Albeit he is a left-field option, as someone who is Premier League proven and still just 23 years old, Ouattara would surely represent better value for money than a number of other names on this list, with Liverpool's summer spending spree allaying the need to necessarily replace Salah with another bonafide superstar. Like the man whose big shoes he would be stepping into, he could develop into a hero at Anfield.