Anfield awaits for Andoni Iraola, with Liverpool set to host Nottingham Forest on Saturday afternoon for the first home game of the Spaniard’s tenure.
He did not get off to a winning start, with the residue of last season’s suffering clinging to Liverpool as they laboured to a draw at St. James’ Park. Still, FSG believe the £120m signing of Bradley Barcola from Paris Saint-Germain will help put things to rights.
Finally, finally, Liverpool have struck ore after mining away for most of the summer, and with less than a week of the transfer window remaining, supporters were getting concerned that Liverpool would be left without a plan and a new star player with just days to go. (Remember Arthur Melo? Mario Balotelli?).
But Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes appears to have completed the task, and now, attention must turn toward a right winger.
Liverpool’s right-wing shortlist
Mohamed Salah plays for Trabzonspor. A weird sentence to write. But it’s the truth, with the 34-year-old quitting a year ahead of schedule after so many setbacks under Arne Slot’s wing last year.
That’s life. That’s football. Nothing is forever, other than the legacy that Salah has left behind. Replacing him is going to be difficult, but Hughes has drawn a list of hopefuls, but it’s proving somewhat difficult.
This is the problem when the window winds down and everyone knows what you want. Bargaining chips fall against you. Brighton have turned down Liverpool’s probing efforts for Yankuba Minteh, demanding £80m for a (talented) young winger who scored three Premier League goals in 2025/26.
But Minteh has a lot of potential, and there is a Salah-esque slant to his game. If Liverpool can’t wrap it up, though, they are further choices to consider. Ismaila Sarr, ever the bane of the Anfield side, has been the subject of a rejected £50m bid.
The 28-year-old is a clinical goalscorer, coming off the back of two prolific title-winning campaigns with Crystal Palace, and recently, a four-goal showing at the World Cup with Senegal. But he would be a sort of stop-gap, not the Salah heir of dreams.
Ismaila Sarr – Most Goals Scored Against (English sides) | ||
|---|---|---|
Club | Apps | Goals |
Aston Villa | 8 | 8 |
Liverpool | 10 | 7 |
Norwich | 7 | 4 |
Brighton | 8 | 3 |
Stoke | 4 | 3 |
Reading | 4 | 3 |
But Liverpool do have options on the right. For Iraola, Barcola, Victor Munoz and Rio Ngumoha are all regarded as options out there – none as exciting as one mooted target, however.
Liverpool looked ready to bid for Sarr upgrade
Sarr is prolific, but he has not been a high-quality carrier for some time. He has simplified his game and leaned toward the goalscoring ability that led to 21 strikes in all competitions last season.
He’s not a bad player – so many goals against Liverpool has left Anfield in fear of him – but this is a critical moment for the club, and instead, someone like Ibrahim Mbaye would have helped shape the future, not only provide padding for the present.
As per reports in France, Liverpool were said to be in a “complicated” situation with PSG as they prepared an official bid to sign Mbaye, who seemingly wanted to join the Reds above all other suitors.
Frustratingly, the likes of David Ornstein have since revealed that the teenager is now nearing an agreement for Aston Villa instead, set to move to the Midlands for £47m. Liverpool have been left empty-handed.
Mbaye, 18, is already accomplished at PSG. The dominant French club’s youngest starter in Ligue 1, he has already chalked up 42 appearances for the seniors, scoring three times across ten league outings last season.
Did Mbaye score 21 goals last season, as Sarr did? No, he did not. But Liverpool built themselves a dynasty by opting for the less-trodden road, and Mbaye would have brought a Ngumoha-styled presence to Iraola’s outfit,all that boyish avidity directed and promoted over the coming years to result in something world-class.
He’s already done it on the biggest stages, after all. It might have been the Kylian Mbappe show as France defeated Senegal in the World Cup group stage, but Mbaye scored a fantastic consolation goal, probably adding a few quid onto his price tag.
Mbaye is direct and hungry for goals. He has pace, and he knows how to use his physical qualities. He is a whole decade Sarr’s junior, and already worming his way into the greatest team of the day. PSG are quite the formidable force, and Mbaye has been a key contributor, both domestically and throughout back-to-back Champions League-winning campaigns.
His underlying qualities and potential to become an elite scorer suggest that he has all he needs to far outstrip Sarr and cement himself as one of the finest forwards of the future.
His “scary pace” and “electric” transitional turns, as noted by analyst Ben Mattinson, make him a force to be reckoned with. His developing edge in front of goal confirm that had it all to become Liverpool’s superstar right winger down the line.
Given that he already has the skill to make an impact, surely Liverpool should have shelved their interest in Sarr and pursued this world-class prospect?
Instead, he’ll now be shining at Villa Park.
