Liverpool’s Right-Side Puzzle: Adapting Without Salah

Bradley Barcola arrived on Merseyside as the headline act of the summer. A Champions League winner with France on his CV, prised from Paris Saint-Germain for £123 million, the kind of fee that screams “centrepiece” rather than “option”.

Yet even he walked into a dressing room with the same instinct as several of his new teammates: drift left.

Barcola, Cody Gakpo, Rio Ngumoha and Victor Munoz all prefer the left flank. All of them naturally gravitate to the side Mohamed Salah once made his own mirror image of – cutting inside, attacking from that pocket of space. Andoni Iraola, handed the job of reshaping Liverpool after Salah’s 257-goal era, is already having to juggle profiles and preferences to cover the yawning gap on the right.

Salah’s departure didn’t just strip Liverpool of goals. It ripped away the most orthodox right-sided threat in the squad. The response? Not a blockbuster replacement. Not yet.

Minteh, Sarr… and a Firm “Not at Any Price”

Liverpool did explore the market. The club were linked with Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh and Crystal Palace winger Ismaila Sarr, both far more natural fits for that right-hand role.

Bids went in. Talks were held. No deals.

Domestic rivals refused to bend and Liverpool refused to be pushed. Rather than slide down the shortlist to options C, D or E, the club stepped back. No late scramble. No compromise signing to appease a depth chart.

The decision was simple: ride it out until January, lean on what’s already in the building, and reassess when the market opens again.

Murphy: “You Don’t Just Buy to Fill a Gap”

Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy sees logic rather than negligence in that approach.

Speaking to GOAL courtesy of Snabbare, Murphy pointed to the clear awareness inside the club of the right-sided issue, with the pursuit of Minteh and Sarr underlining that. But he also backed the choice not to force a deal that didn’t fit.

“There were a lot of rumours around trying to get Minteh and Sarr in, who are obviously more right-sided players, so they're obviously aware of it,” Murphy said.

“But I think, as a football club, there's something to be said for not buying somebody or getting somebody just to fill. If you've already got talented, intelligent footballers there, who can play that side – because I've seen Barcola play off the right, I think Gakpo's got the intelligence to do it, I think he'll score goals from there. He got a great assist from there, actually, I think in the Forest game from the right side.”

That’s the crux of Liverpool’s gamble. They trust versatility. They trust intelligence. They trust that the collective can bend without breaking.

“So they probably looked at what they already had when they couldn't get Sarr or Minteh and thought, ‘you know what, let's not rush and get someone in who doesn't quite fit the criteria’. So I understand it.

“You don't always get what you want in a window. You can't be held to ransom and pay over the odds for players just because you desperately need them, because they've spent a lot of money.

“So in an ideal world you'd want a more orthodox right-sided player, I agree with that, but ultimately do I think they've got enough for now in Munoz, who's shown glimpses on that side, and Gakpo can play that side and even Barcola? I think they've got enough.”

Left-Footed Squad, Right-Sided Solutions

The early weeks of the 2026-27 season have turned the right wing into a tactical laboratory.

Gakpo, Ngumoha, Munoz and Barcola have all been pushed out there at various points, each asked to twist their natural game to suit the team’s needs. Sometimes it’s worked through raw quality alone. Sometimes it’s looked like a work in progress.

One moment stands out already. Away at Bournemouth, with the game tight and tense, Gakpo burst down the right touchline, hit the byline and drilled a low ball into the box. Alexander Isak met it, Liverpool won it. That move came from the very area many labelled their biggest problem.

The pressure finally told, not through a specialist right winger, but through adaptation.

Unbeaten, Unhurried – and Eyes on 2027

All of this is happening against a reassuring backdrop: Liverpool have yet to lose this season.

Across the Premier League, Champions League and Carabao Cup, Iraola’s side remain unbeaten. The lack of a “new Salah” hasn’t yet become an exposed weakness. It’s more a talking point than a crisis.

Even so, the story isn’t finished. Interest in Minteh and Sarr could spark back into life in January or next summer. Both are understood to be open to an Anfield move, and Liverpool’s need for a true right-sided specialist will not vanish with a few positive results.

For now, though, the club has chosen patience over panic. The right flank belongs to improvisers, not imitators. The question is simple: can a team built on flexibility keep winning while it waits for the perfect fit?