Liverpool face one of the most daunting challenges in modern Premier League history this summer: replacing Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian King’s departure from Anfield after eight extraordinary seasons will leave a void that no single player can realistically fill, according to former England winger Chris Waddle.
Salah will depart as one of the greatest players to ever wear the red shirt. He has delivered two Premier League titles, a Champions League, an FA Cup, a League Cup, a Club World Cup, and four Premier League Golden Boots. As the Reds’ most prolific goal contributor for the eight seasons before this one, he has etched his name into English football folklore. Yet Waddle insists that simply signing “the next Salah” is not an option — because no such player exists in the current market.
“Who could replace Mohamed Salah this summer at Liverpool? There’s not many who play his way,” Waddle admitted. “There are a lot of wingers. I think Jarrod Bowen is the closest I’ve seen to a player like Salah who gets the goals but he’s getting on a bit now. If West Ham went down, there’s the possibility of Liverpool getting a couple of years out of him.”
The former Newcastle, Tottenham, Marseille and Sheffield Wednesday star believes Liverpool should instead target a pair of proven England internationals to share the burden. Alongside Bowen, Waddle highlights Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon as the ideal complementary piece — a versatile, adaptable attacker who could operate across the forward line.
“Anthony Gordon plays on the left wing and I think he would prefer to be a left-sided player or a number nine now,” Waddle explained. “He’s enjoyed playing up there for Newcastle United so I’m not sure about him taking Salah’s place at Liverpool.”
Even so, the former winger sees Gordon’s multi-positional threat as a major tactical asset. “I’m sure he could play there [on the right] and do it, I’m not saying he couldn’t, but he’s the sort of player who enjoys running into space down that left-hand side when it’s nice and open,” he told FruityKing. “I’ve seen many games where the other team have changed a player or changed the system because of how dangerous Anthony Gordon has looked down the left so why would you waste that?”
Waddle’s analysis underscores a harsh reality for Liverpool’s recruitment team. While both Bowen and Gordon are high-quality wide men capable of scoring and creating, neither replicates Salah’s unique blend of relentless goal output, consistency and game-changing presence. “I’ve not seen a great deal of players who can score the amount of goals that Salah can,” Waddle continued. “There are a lot of players who can create more chances and do some things better than Salah with the ball but I’ve not seen a player who could do exactly what Salah has done for Liverpool.”
The message is clear: Liverpool are not shopping for one heir to the throne. They need two intelligent, battle-tested England stars who can collectively shoulder the load — and even then, the Egyptian King’s shadow may loom large over Anfield for years to come. The departure of Mohamed Salah hasn’t just created a gap; it has detonated Liverpool’s carefully laid transfer blueprint, forcing the club into a rare and high-stakes rethink of how to rebuild their attack from the ground up.