Liverpool’s Future Without Salah: Akliouche as a Key Candidate
Liverpool’s future without Mohamed Salah is no longer an abstract question. It’s a live problem on Arne Slot’s desk, and the search for a new right-sided forward has taken the club’s recruitment team to Ligue 1 and the feet of Maghnes Akliouche.
The AS Monaco attacker has emerged, according to reports in France, as one of the names under serious consideration as Liverpool draw up a shortlist to reshape their forward line this summer.
Salah’s Shadow and a Blunt Attack
Recent performances have underlined the scale of the task. Slot has struggled to find reliable match-winners in the final third, with Liverpool’s attack losing its edge just as the season demanded clarity, not questions.
Salah’s impending departure sits at the heart of that uncertainty. Around it, other issues swirl. Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak have been battling fitness problems. Cody Gakpo’s form has drifted in and out, never quite settling into the ruthless consistency Liverpool once took for granted.
The result: an attack that feels in transition, without a clear focal point or hierarchy. That is where Akliouche enters the conversation.
Akliouche: Numbers, Profile, and Price
At 24, Akliouche is not a raw project. He operates primarily from the right wing but is comfortable drifting inside and playing centrally, a versatility that appeals to a coach looking to recalibrate rather than simply copy and paste Salah’s role.
His output this season for Monaco is quietly impressive: seven goals and 11 assists in 41 appearances across all competitions. Those numbers do not scream superstardom, but they do hint at a player with end product and scope to grow in a more dominant side.
This is not the first time the Premier League has come calling. Tottenham pushed for him last summer, only for Akliouche to turn down the move in favour of a different path. In the end, no club met Monaco’s valuation, with a price tag of around €70 million said to have scared off potential bidders.
That stance may soften. Reports now suggest Monaco could consider an exit in the upcoming window, with PSG and Liverpool both showing interest. The French champions’ presence always complicates matters, yet Liverpool are believed to be weighing up a bid in the region of €50 million.
For a player entering his prime, already capped at international level by France, that figure would represent a significant, but not outrageous, investment.
Slot’s Blueprint: More Than a Like-for-Like
This is not just a hunt for “the next Salah.” Slot has been clear that Liverpool’s thinking stretches beyond a simple left-footed winger on the right.
Speaking earlier this month, the Liverpool head coach framed Salah’s replacement within a broader tactical puzzle, highlighting how the team might evolve around Alexander Isak in particular.
“[Getting the most from Isak] is definitely part of thinking about the [Salah] replacement,” Slot said. “Because, since I have been here, and it is the same at a lot of clubs, it is mainly a left footer on the right and a right footer on the left.
“I have seen Alex scoring also a lot from crosses which were played from the right, right-footed, Trent Alexander-Arnold crosses, if you want to call them like that.
“So that is definitely part of how we are looking at things, but we try to sign the best possible available player who we can afford.
“Something else which also happens at certain clubs is: ‘OK, that is the best player in the world in that position, let’s try and get him.’ That is not how we work, we try and sign the best possible player who is available for us.”
That last line is telling. Liverpool are not chasing a galáctico. They are looking for the right fit, at the right price, for a squad that still has plenty of firepower but needs recalibration.
Akliouche, Barcola, Diomande – and a Big Decision
Akliouche is not the only name on the list. Bradley Barcola and Yan Diomande have both been heavily linked with a move to Anfield, each offering different profiles and pathways to solving the Salah question.
Supporters, understandably, are split between those craving a like-for-like replacement and those who see this as a chance to redraw the attack entirely. Should Liverpool stick with the familiar template of an inverted left-footer on the right? Or tilt the system to maximise Isak, Trent Alexander-Arnold’s delivery, and a more orthodox wide threat?
Akliouche complicates that debate. He is, after all, a left-footer cutting in from the right – the very mould Slot suggested he might be willing to break away from. Yet football plans rarely stay rigid. If the price is right, the player is available, and the data and scouting reports align, philosophies can bend.
For now, Akliouche sits as a live option: productive, adaptable, and within range financially if Monaco lower their demands. PSG’s interest raises the stakes, but Liverpool have never been shy about backing their own conviction in the market.
The Salah era at Anfield is edging towards its final act. Whoever steps into that vacant space on the right will not just inherit a position, but a responsibility that has defined a generation of Liverpool sides. The question is whether Maghnes Akliouche is the one they trust to carry it.
