Liverpool Targets Francisco Trincão as Mohamed Salah Successor

Liverpool’s search for life after Mohamed Salah has taken a fresh twist, and this time the spotlight has swung to Lisbon.

Francisco Trincão, the Sporting CP playmaker enjoying the most productive season of his career, has emerged as the latest name on Liverpool’s attacking shortlist, with reports in Portugal linking the 26-year-old to Anfield ahead of a pivotal summer.

Trincão emerges as Salah succession candidate

Liverpool’s recruitment team have been scouring Europe for a forward capable of easing the blow when Salah eventually departs. Trincão’s numbers demand attention.

Thirteen goals. Eighteen assists. Fifty-three appearances across all competitions for Sporting this season.

Those are the kind of figures that make analysts sit up. They also explain why, according to Portuguese outlet Record, relayed by Sport Witness, Liverpool are now weighing up a move for the left-footed attacker.

Trincão offers versatility as well as end product. Comfortable operating from the right flank or drifting into midfield, he fits the profile of a modern forward who can interchange positions and knit together attacks rather than simply hug the touchline.

His coach Rui Borges has already hinted publicly that a summer exit is on the table, and that only fuels the sense that this is a window of opportunity for clubs circling around Sporting’s key creators.

Liverpool, despite spending more than £450m last year, are not expected to sit still. The rebuild under the new regime has already started, but the next phase is clear: find the man who can take on Salah’s burden of goals, assists and big‑game moments.

Right now, Trincão is firmly in that conversation.

Diomande path closes as Leipzig dig in

Liverpool’s interest in Trincão comes as another attacking option edges away from their grasp.

Yan Diomande, the 19-year-old forward who has blossomed in his first season at RB Leipzig after arriving from CD Leganés, has made his intentions clear. Asked in Germany if he expects to still be at Leipzig for the 2026/27 campaign, his answer was blunt enough to cool the speculation: “Yes.”

Pressed on the rumours surrounding his future, Diomande told Kicker he is not entertaining the noise.

“I’m not thinking about that right now,” he said. “I’m at Leipzig and I enjoy playing here. In the end, it’s always the statistics that count. It’s been a fantastic year for me.”

Liverpool have tracked the teenager’s progress, but so have Manchester United and others. Any hope of testing Leipzig’s resolve this summer, though, has run into a brick wall at boardroom level.

Red Bull powerbroker Oliver Mintzlaff set out the club’s stance in stark terms late last month. Selling Diomande now is not on the agenda.

“I can say: If I were sporting director, I wouldn't sell this young player, who hasn't even completed a full season with us,” he said. “No matter what price is being asked. I believe he's a player who can still develop further, because he's still very young. And he can certainly become more expensive.”

The message was unmistakable. Leipzig see Diomande as a long-term project, not a quick profit.

Mintzlaff underlined that point by referencing the wider transfer landscape. Bayern Munich, English clubs, Spanish giants – he knows the market, and he knows who is watching. Even so, he stressed that Leipzig expect more than a single standout season before any departure is entertained.

“We have to expect that a player, even if he delivers outstanding performances here, doesn't leave again after just one year,” he said. His recommendation to the club’s hierarchy was simple: keep Diomande for at least another campaign.

Champions League football forms a central part of Leipzig’s pitch to the youngster. A second season on that stage, with a bigger role and greater responsibility, is being sold as the ideal next step in his development.

“So we have many good arguments,” Mintzlaff added. “And the best argument is a long-term contract. Therefore, I'm completely relaxed about the whole matter.”

Liverpool’s next move

With Diomande effectively locked away for now, Liverpool’s gaze has shifted. The need hasn’t changed; the shortlist has.

Trincão, in form and seemingly open to a new challenge, now finds himself under serious consideration as Liverpool prepare for a summer that could redefine their forward line.

The question is no longer whether they will move for a Salah heir. It’s which name they are prepared to back as the face of the next era at Anfield.