Liverpool send scouts to watch “incredible” young winger as potential replacement for Mohamed Salah

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah. (Reuters/Jason Cairnduff)

Mohamed Salah’s growing standoff with Liverpool continues to dominate headlines.

The Egyptian has now been left out of back-to-back Premier League matches and reacted furiously to Arne Slot’s decision-making, accusing the manager of thrown him “under the bus.”

His situation worsened when he was excluded entirely from the squad for Liverpool’s Champions League win over Inter Milan, with Slot openly admitting he doesn’t know whether Salah will play for the club again.

Salah’s behaviour has drawn heavy criticism, particularly after a similar dispute erupted during the summer while negotiating his new contract. Even Manchester United legend Paul Scholes weighed in, saying the winger “needs to grow up.”

Liverpool, however, appear ready to move on.

With Salah increasingly expected to depart for the Saudi Pro League, the club is already identifying potential successors — and one name has suddenly moved to the top of their list.

TEAMtalk reports that Liverpool sent a delegation of scouts to Germany on Saturday evening to watch RB Leipzig sensation Yan Diomande — a player they view as a possible long-term replacement for Salah.

As Liverpool were twice surrendering a lead in a chaotic 3–3 draw away at Leeds, Leipzig were dismantling Eintracht Frankfurt 6–0 at the Red Bull Arena.

Diomande was the standout performer, delivering a blistering 18-minute hat-trick shortly after half-time and dominating the right side of Leipzig’s attack — the very position Salah has owned at Anfield for years.

Sources confirmed that more than a dozen clubs were in attendance, but Liverpool’s interest was described as “serious,” with scouts specifically sent to assess the Ivorian teenager’s readiness for a Premier League move.

Diomande only joined Leipzig in the summer, yet he has already become one of their most prized assets. Teammate Christoph Baumgartner has called him “incredible,” and within the Red Bull organisation he is viewed as their most exciting attacking prospect since Erling Haaland.

Leipzig insist they do not want to sell, but they are aware that his rapid rise is attracting elite-level attention. Liverpool, meanwhile, are searching aggressively for another forward option — and depending on how the Salah situation unfolds, that move may need to happen as early as January.

Barnaby Lane is a highly experienced sports writer who has written for The Times, FourFourTwo Magazine, Sports Illustrated, TalkSPORT, and Business Insider.

Over the years, he's had the pleasure of interviewing some of the biggest names in world sport, including Usain Bolt, Rafael Nadal, Christian Pulisic, and more.