Liverpool transfer targets: How can Reds replace Mohamed Salah with PSG's Bradley Barcola and RB Leipzig's Yan Diomande?

Premier League champions Liverpool have struggled in 2025-26, and with Mohamed Salah set to leave the club at the end of the season, the future of the Reds' attack remains uncertain.

Last summer, Arne Slot's side parted ways with a record-breaking £446.5m, shattering the British transfer record twice to sign German star Florian Wirtz and prise striker Alexander Isak from Newcastle United.

The duo are likely to be at the heart of the Merseysiders' frontline for years to come, but while Wirtz has shown glimpses of his promise, it would be fair to say that his debut campaign at Anfield has been lacklustre, and Isak has been absent for large chunks of the season through injury.

Out wide, Liverpool sold Luis Diaz to Bayern Munich, and though they received a healthy £65.5m from Vincent Kompany's Bavarians, the winger was not replaced with a new arrival.

With that in mind, the 2026 summer transfer window is sure to see the Reds bolster their options on the wings, and after links to Bradley Barcola and Yan Diomande, Sports Mole takes a look at how the duo might replace Salah.

How can Bradley Barcola help Liverpool to replace Luis Diaz (and Sadio Mane)?

Given the impressive displays that Diaz has put on for Bayern this term, pundits such as Micah Richards and Jamie Carragher have questioned Liverpool's decision to sell the winger.

However, it is important to remember that while the Colombian wide man was a consistently hard worker on the left flank, he often failed to produce the numbers that would justify his place in the XI of a team competing on all four fronts each season.

For example, Diaz spent much of his time on the pitch last season operating as the centre point of Slot's attack, and though he is remembered for individual moments such as his hat-trick against Bayer Leverkusen, he frequently endured dry spells, and scored just once between January 5 and April 2.

All-in-all, Diaz delivered only 17 goals and five assists across 50 appearances during 2024-25, and it is notable that his lacklustre assist figure was actually the highest of his Reds career.

By contrast, Barcola registered 21 goals and 18 assists for Paris Saint-Germain last term, and for those concerned that Ligue 1 is of a lower standard than the Premier League, the Frenchman contributed three goals and four assists on the way to winning the Champions League, in comparison to Diaz's three goals and zero assists in the competition.

To be fair to the now-Bayern star, goal contributions are not the only metric by which a player should be judged, but Diaz was often criticised for failing to live up to the legacy of Sadio Mane's output from the left.

Mane's debut campaign under Jurgen Klopp saw him notch 13 goals and provide seven assists, outstripping Diaz's best-ever assist numbers for Liverpool, while matching his best-ever goal numbers in the league.

With that in mind, Barcola could represent an upgrade on Diaz in terms of direct contributions, though the Reds may have to look elsewhere to replace his one-versus-one dribbling threat.

How can Yan Diomande help Liverpool to replace Mohamed Salah?

Salah has broken countless records since making the switch to Liverpool from Roma in 2017, and it would be near-impossible to directly replace the Egyptian winger, who is the club's third-highest goalscorer of all time.

That being said, the burden of the 33-year-old's goal output could be shared by the likes of Isak and Barcola, while a new right-winger, such as Diomande, could supplement the frontline with his impressive well-rounded skillset.

At just nineteen years of age, Diomande is one of the Bundesliga's standout stars, and has caught the eye of top clubs from around the world while providing 13 goals and nine assists for Leipzig in 2025-26 - a rate of one contribution every 112 minutes so far.

Raw goal contributions aside, Salah has been the focal point of Liverpool's attack for the past nine years, and he consistently makes a high volume of touches in the final third as the team look to the winger to guide the offence.

Diomande plays a similar role for Die Roten Bullen, often being the fulcrum of Ole Werner's attack, and it is notable that the youngster has taken approximately 65 touches per 90 this term - significantly more than Barcola (56.9), Cody Gakpo (45) and Salah (54) this season, as well as Diaz in 2024-25 (49.2).

The Leipzig youngster has also attempted 39.7 passes per 90 so far, outpacing all of the above players in comparison, and it would not be surprising if Liverpool's hierarchy see Diomande's ability to lead an attack as an important quality when assessing possible replacements for Salah.

One other key strength that the 19-year-old could offer Slot's side is his immense dribbling capability, considering that he boasts 4.4 take ons per 90 at a completion rate of 60%, a higher figure and percentage than even Diaz (two p90 at a rate of 50.96%) managed for the Reds.

Keeping in mind that replacing Salah and Mane like-for-like is not a realistic possibility, Diomande's skillset could compliment Barcola's direct-to-goal nature in order to offer some semblance of the famous duo, albeit with their responsibilities spread differently.