Liverpool already has ideal Mohamed Salah replacement ready for Andoni Iraola to build around

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Liverpool will soon undergo its first pre-season without Mohamed Salah since 2016, when Jurgen Klopp arrived at Anfield, as the Reds get ready for the Andoni Iraola eraMohamed Salah in action for Egypt at the World Cup.(Image: Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)It will take some getting used to that Mohamed Salah is no longer a Liverpool player. The Egyptian has played his final minutes for the Reds and will be wearing another jersey next season.Salah is yet to decide — or at least to make public — where he will be playing next term.

Wherever it is, though, he will be desperate to show that last season is not the new normal.By his own incredibly lofty standards, Salah's final season at Liverpool was a collective and individual disappointment. Off it, there was a feeling of discontent that came to the surface a few times, including with the mixed zone outburst at Elland Road.But regardless, given his contributions and his experience of performing at the very highest level of the game for the best part of a decade, moving beyond Salah will not be straightforward.If Liverpool manages to thrash out a transfer deal — having already expressed a willingness to pay €100 million ($115 million/£85 million) — for Yan Diomande, then he might take Salah's spot on the right flank most often.Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola(Image: Nikki Dyer - LFC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)In terms of his function, though, Salah was the primary attacker around whom the rest of the Liverpool team was fitted.

Even at comfortably north of $100M, Diomande won't be that — at least not straight away.Instead, the focal point will be Alexander Isak, the $169 million (£125 million) striker who will effectively be like a new signing for Liverpool next season, having played so little in his debut campaign.Florian Wirtz, too, will have to take on more of the mantle. Salah was a creator as well as a scorer, and the $153 million (£116 million) Germany playmaker will have to become a more important piece of the Liverpool attacking puzzle in his second season.The success of Andoni Iraola's first season, however, is likely to hinge most heavily on the success of Isak.Get LFC's 2025/26 season home and away kitsThis article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it.