Hugo Ekitike injury complicates Liverpool transfer plan as internal Michael Olise regret clear

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A closer look at what Liverpool need to do in the summer as Mohamed Salah gets set to leave and Hugo Ekitike faces months on the sidelinesIn their attempts to replace the output of Mohamed Salah, the plan to get £320m worth of attacking talent signed last summer on the pitch together more regularly has been pitched at Liverpool.Prior to Alexander Isak's surprise start against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night, he had only played alongside Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike in the same team for 88 minutes this season.It was understandable that Isak, who had been sidelined for nearly four months, was not at the heights that made him a £125m striker on September 1, when Liverpool completed that British-record deal with Newcastle United.Five touches in total before a pre-determined half-time substitution showed where the Sweden international's current fitness level lies, but the broader idea of him starting alongside the £116m Wirtz and £79m Ekitike pointed towards the future at Anfield.FOLLOW OUR LIVERPOOL FC FACEBOOK PAGE! All the latest news and analysis from Anfield on the Liverpool Echo's dedicated LFC Facebook pageAs Salah prepares to end a wondrous career on Merseyside, supporters were at least shown what the idea is for when the decorated Egyptian departs after nine, largely golden years.Inside half an hour, though, Ekitike's season - and World Cup dream - was over after suffering a ruptured Achilles.The France international and supporters will now have to wait several months before the big-money trio can add to what is now a paltry 115 minutes together.Isak and Ekitike, in fact, started just three games together all season - all of which came in the Champions League - and two of them ended with either one or the other going off injured.Isak was forced off at half-time in the 5-1 hammering of Eintracht Frankfurt in October before Tuesday's cruel end to Ekitike's term.Whatever Liverpool's objective was when they invested a record-breaking sum of around £440m in the transfer market, this wasn't it.

And there's now a very real prospect of all three players being 18 months into their Anfield careers having played less than the entirety of a cup game that has gone to extra time together.But with Salah heading for pastures new and doubts continuing over Federico Chiesa's long-term suitability in question, those in recruitment will be tasked with reconfiguring the forward line further this coming window.More pace and a player who can shoulder some of the goalscoring burden are a must.After nine seasons at Anfield, Salah will leave having topped the scoring charts in eight of them and the player who supplanted him, the 17-goal Ekitike, won't be available until well into next season. He is settled in Germany and is one of the Bundesliga's outstanding players at a club that doesn't need or want to sell.Yan Diomande of RB Leipzig is another who has been linked and Liverpool have a long history of dealing with the Red Bull club.The 19-year-old Diomande insists he is focusing on his current club right now but admitted last week he is aware of the speculation."I'm here, there's already health and I work every day," he told Africafoot.

I keep smiling, I stay jovial and I push."My work is on the pitch and I'm fully committed to my current club. I play in Leipzig and I'm having fun."Much of the last decade has been a case of evolution rather than revolution when it comes to the Reds' forward line, with numerous stars coming and going while Salah has remained a constant.As Liverpool get set to say goodbye to one of their greatest ever, however, Ekitike's injury further complicates matters for a club who are not yet sure which UEFA competition will be boosting the income.