I think Liverpool's plan to replace Mo Salah is wrong, here's what should actually happen - opinion

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Less than 24 hours after Mohamed Salah’s impending exit was confirmed, we have already seen a plethora of replacements mooted.Fabrizio Romano initially reported that the Reds will target wingers in the 2026 summer transfer window, before another report claimed that potential attacking options have been sounded out by the club already.A list of seven wingers, including Jarrod Bowen, was then shared, but I don’t think Liverpool should be looking at forwards at all when it comes to planning for life without Salah. Is Mohamed Salah Liverpool’s greatest EVER player?

Nine years of sheer brilliance are coming to an end… Photo Credit: Getty Images/Stuart Franklin – UEFA/Michael Regan Forget wingers, Liverpool’s squad is better suited to a 3-5-2What will probably happen is the Reds will go out and spend big money on a player like Yan Diomande or maybe even Bowen.Would they be bad signings? Of course not, but just swapping Salah for another winger still leaves multiple problems for Arne Slot, or any other manager, to contend with in the 2026/27 season.Firstly, if the majority of the summer transfer budget is spent on a high-profile right-winger, it’s unlikely there’d be much left over to replace Cody Gakpo, who has been really poor this term, on the left.A new midfielder also needs to be looked at, as well as a left-back, and maybe a centre-back if Ibrahima Konate departs.But splashing cash on someone like Diomande, who could cost £87m, means other positions would be neglected.Secondly, if Liverpool go down the route of adding another wider attacker and remain in their 4-3-3 formation, how does Slot get Alexander Isak into the team properly?Slot has said Hugo Ekitike could play off the left, but that would just negate the impact of the Reds’ most consistent summer signing.Instead, given that the Swede should hopefully be fully fit by August, it would make more sense to move away from traditional wingers and switch to a two-man strike force.Having Ekitike and Isak up front gets the best out of both strikers and would then allow Florian Wirtz to consistently play in his preferred 10 role.Similarly, we have all seen that Jeremie Frimpong, whether it be from his time at Bayer Leverkusen or at Anfield, is most effective when pushed high up the pitch, playing either as a wing-back or in Liverpool’s case, as an out-and-out winger.So, Liverpool should be aiming to switch to a 3-5-2 formation with an XI similar to the one below: CHANGE MY MIND: This WILL be Liverpool’s best XI after Jacquet arrives!

Isak HAS to play and wing-backs will give Slot the pace he’s been crying out for…Liverpool’s 2026/27 predicted XI – GRV Media line-up Yes, Liverpool could go down the route of signing a direct Salah replacement, which they seem set on doing, but I just think if you’re going to break the British transfer record for a player, why not build the team around him?It gets more out of players like Isak and Frimpong, reduces the cost of replacing Salah and means Gakpo no longer needs to start regularly.A new wing-back would need to be signed to cover Milos Kerkez, of course, but that position needed strengthening anyway given Andy Robertson’s contract situation.Join Our NewsletterReceive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox