Liverpool's Transfer Dilemma: Who Replaces Salah?

Liverpool’s transfer clock is ticking. The Premier League returns this weekend, but the real noise around Anfield is still coming from the market, not the pitch.

Andoni Iraola will walk out for his first competitive game in charge of Liverpool on Sunday at St. James’ Park against Newcastle United. While he plots a way through that cauldron, the hierarchy above him is racing a different deadline: the final week of the transfer window.

So far, the business has been modest. Victor Munoz is in. Jeremy Jacquet’s arrival was tied up back in January. Ronald Araujo has joined on a season-long loan from Barcelona. Useful pieces, yes, but the obvious question still hangs over the squad: who replaces Mohamed Salah?

Right now, there is no clear answer.

Mbaye weighs up his future as Liverpool and PSG stand firm

Liverpool’s search for wide firepower has led them repeatedly to Paris. Bradley Barcola is the headline target, yet it is his Paris Saint-Germain teammate Ibrahim Mbaye whose situation has started to twist.

According to French outlet L’Équipe, both Barcola and Mbaye feel their transfer sagas have dragged on far too long. Neither is expected to be in Luis Enrique’s squad for PSG’s Ligue 1 opener against Rennes this weekend, a clear sign of uncertainty around their futures.

The pressure is starting to tell.

Liverpool views Barcola as the priority, but Mbaye’s camp is no longer prepared to wait indefinitely. The report suggests the Senegal international could start looking at alternative destinations in the final 10 days of the window if talks continue to stall.

The problem is simple and familiar: price.

RMC Sport reported on Friday that Liverpool values Mbaye at around £43 million ($58 million). PSG wants closer to £60 million ($82 million). That gap has not closed, and with time running down, a compromise looks unlikely.

Mbaye, still a teenager, is understood to remain keen on the move to Anfield, yet willingness from the player is only one part of the equation. Liverpool must decide whether to push harder or walk away.

The wider picture matters here. Reports have consistently linked Liverpool with other wingers, including Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh, underlining that Mbaye is not the only option on the table. Both Mbaye and Minteh fall into a similar financial bracket, so the choice becomes strategic rather than purely opportunistic.

Minteh is older and has already felt the pace of the Premier League, but he is currently injured and could be out until October or November. Mbaye is younger, rawer, but comes with a serious upside and 41 appearances for a side that has lifted the last two Champions League trophies. That kind of experience at his age is rare.

Liverpool must decide what they value more: proven domestic exposure or a higher long-term ceiling.

Bournemouth shut the door on Adams – for now

While the focus at Anfield is clearly on the front line, midfield rumors refuse to disappear.

On Friday, Curtis Jones’ move to Inter Milan was confirmed, ending a 16-year association with Liverpool. His departure naturally sharpened questions about the balance in the middle of the pitch, even if the club’s immediate recruitment energy remains pointed towards the attack.

In recent days, some reports have suggested Iraola would like to reunite with Bournemouth midfielder Tyler Adams at Liverpool. The pair worked together previously, and the United States international fits the kind of intense, aggressive profile Iraola favors.

Bournemouth, though, are not playing along.

Football Insider reports that the Cherries have no intention of letting Adams leave the Vitality Stadium this summer, despite the rumored interest from Liverpool and other Premier League sides. The stance is described as firm, with the club prepared to resist approaches.

Adams is under contract until 2028, and the report notes he is “about to enter the final two years of his deal,” a line that jars with the actual end date but underlines one thing: Bournemouth hold the leverage and are in no rush to cash in.

At Liverpool, midfield is not the fire that needs putting out first. The squad is not short of bodies in that area, even if some supporters remain uneasy about the overall profile and balance. For now, the glaring issue is out wide, where the hole left by Salah still gapes.

If and when Liverpool do decide to invest again in midfield, there may be more exciting options than Adams. Names such as Bournemouth’s Alex Scott and Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton have already been floated as potential long-term fits.

For the moment, though, the story of Liverpool’s window is being written on the wings. Mbaye waits. Minteh recovers. Barcola remains the dream.

Seven days to go. One of those names has to become reality.