Liverpool Replace Mo Salah With a Surprise Move: Why Bradley Barcola Is the Real Answer

Liverpool head into the new season with a genuine structural issue in attack one that quietly went unaddressed all summer. Despite Mohamed Salah’s departure from Anfield after a legendary nine-year spell, the club currently doesn’t possess a natural right-winger anywhere in the squad. Under manager Andoni Iraola, Liverpool’s attack is stacked with talented wide players, but virtually all of them share the same preference: the left flank.

Liverpool’s Left-Sided Winger Problem, Explained

Right now, Liverpool have four exciting options out wide Víctor Muñoz, Rio Ngumoha, Cody Gakpo, and Bradley Barcola — and all four have spent the majority of their careers playing on the left side of the attack. That imbalance represents what may end up being Liverpool’s most significant miscalculation of the transfer window: failing to sign a genuine right-sided winger to directly replace Salah’s production and positioning from that flank.

The Right-Winger Targets Liverpool Missed Out On

It wasn’t for lack of opportunity. Liverpool were linked with several natural right-wing options throughout the summer, including Yan Diomande and Ibrahim Mbaye, both of whom were considered genuine targets at different points in the window. In the closing days before deadline day, the club also explored potential moves for Yankuba Minteh and Ismaïla Sarr. Ultimately, none of those moves were deemed viable for Liverpool, leaving the club to enter the season without a direct positional replacement for Salah.

How Liverpool Quietly Replaced Mo Salah Without a Right-Winger

So if Liverpool didn’t sign a traditional right-winger, who actually replaces Salah’s production? The answer may have gone largely unnoticed. Liverpool’s late decision to keep hold of Cody Gakpo — turning down an offer worth a reported £85 million from Manchester City — ended up shaping the answer indirectly. With Gakpo staying and the club’s attacking depth settled, the real successor to Salah’s star power isn’t a right-winger by trade at all.

It’s Bradley Barcola.

Why Bradley Barcola Can Replace Salah’s Star Quality, If Not His Position

Barcola arrived at Liverpool in a deal worth up to £120 million from Paris Saint-Germain, and while he’s primarily a left-footed winger who operates off the left flank, he does have experience playing on the right — both during his early career at Lyon and during spells with PSG. That positional flexibility matters, but the more important factor is what Barcola represents in terms of raw quality: replacing not necessarily Salah’s exact role on the pitch, but the level of world-class difference-making ability Liverpool lost when the Egyptian King departed.

The numbers back up that quality. Over the last calendar year, Barcola has averaged the highest expected goals (xG) among wingers across Europe’s top five leagues, posting 0.50 per 90 minutes — ahead of Barcelona sensation Lamine Yamal (0.49), Liverpool’s own Luis Díaz (0.44), and Napoli’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (0.41). Barcola has also averaged the third-most goals among that group at 0.52 per 90 minutes, trailing only Yamal (0.58) and Crystal Palace’s Michael Olise (0.53).

Not Everyone Agrees Barcola Solves Liverpool’s Salah Problem

Not every pundit is convinced Barcola’s arrival actually fixes what Liverpool lost. Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has been publicly skeptical, arguing throughout the summer that Liverpool’s real priority should have been signing a genuine right-winger rather than pursuing Barcola. Carragher didn’t dispute Barcola’s quality, calling him a player he’d love to see at Liverpool, but maintained that the club already had several capable left-sided options before Barcola even arrived — and that adding another one, however talented, doesn’t solve the specific right-wing void left by Salah’s exit.

Other analysts have echoed a similar point, framing Barcola less as a positional replacement for Salah and more as a way to recapture the specific problem Salah used to create for defenses — direct, one-on-one pace and unpredictability from a wide position, regardless of which flank it comes from.

What Bradley Barcola’s Arrival Means for Liverpool’s Season

Whether or not Barcola technically replaces Salah’s exact role on the right side of Liverpool’s attack, his statistical production over the past year places him among the most dangerous wide players in European football. For a Liverpool side adjusting to life without one of the most productive wingers in Premier League history, Barcola’s combination of star quality and underlying numbers gives the club a genuine building block even if the positional puzzle on the right flank remains something Iraola may still need to solve as the season unfolds.