Liverpool's Transfer Dilemma: Salah's Replacement and Gakpo's Future
Liverpool’s transfer clock is ticking loudly now. About a week remains, and Anfield still feels light in key areas for a club that talks seriously about trophies.
Andoni Iraola walked through the door expected to reshape plenty. He has, to a point. Four first‑team players have gone, three have arrived. On paper, though, none of the newcomers quite match the calibre of those they have replaced. The squad looks different, not necessarily stronger.
Yet there is still faith in the new manager. The former Bournemouth boss is being backed by a fanbase that believes he can knit this together once the window shuts and the noise dies down.
Right now, that noise is all about the attack.
Salah’s shadow and a stalled succession plan
Replacing Mohamed Salah should have been item one on Liverpool’s summer to‑do list. Everyone at the club has known it. Richard Hughes certainly has. He was aware from early July that Yan Diomande would not be the answer, and that decision has only sharpened scrutiny on what has – or rather hasn’t – happened since.
Bradley Barcola has emerged as the prime target. Liverpool rate him highly, and he would be a statement signing. But Paris Saint‑Germain’s asking price is sky‑high, and that fee has become the major roadblock. Negotiations drag. The window shrinks.
As talks stall, other names swirl around the rumour mill. One of them, Ibrahim Mbaye, has caught the eye. At just 18 and already making waves in Paris, he is not short of admirers. Liverpool are in the mix, but so are several others who see the same potential and sense the same opportunity.
An update from Fabrizio Romano has at least offered Liverpool supporters a measure of reassurance around these pursuits, calming some of the more anxious speculation. The club are working, the targets are real. That matters in a restless week like this.
Gakpo interest and a looming dilemma
Complicating everything is the growing interest in Cody Gakpo. Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur are both hovering, testing Liverpool’s resolve and trying to lure the Dutchman away before the deadline.
On Sunday, Gakpo was Liverpool’s sharpest forward. On that evidence, selling him now would be a baffling move for a team already juggling so many attacking questions. Let him go, and the front line suddenly looks dangerously thin.
Even in the best‑case scenario – landing both Mbaye and Barcola – Liverpool would still be one attacker short. Hugo Ekitike remains sidelined with no clear return date, another hole in a department that once felt overloaded with options.
So the equation is simple and stark. Hughes has days, not weeks, to give Iraola the firepower he needs. If Liverpool emerge from this window without genuine reinforcement in attack, the scrutiny will be fierce and the questions unavoidable.
And that’s before anyone even dares to imagine a deadline day where Cody Gakpo walks out of the door.
