Liverpool: Why Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz must step up after Mohamed Salah’s exit
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Life after Salah – why Isak and Wirtz must step up for Liverpool
By Aadam Patel, Football reporter
Published 9 minutes ago
No player has scored more goals on the first matchday of a Premier League season than Mohamed Salah for Liverpool. But as the 2026-27 campaign gets under way, Salah will be playing in Turkey, leaving a void in the Reds’ attack.
With the Egypt superstar out, Liverpool’s top scorer in the current squad is Cody Gakpo with just 50 goals. When the Reds signed Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, and Hugo Ekitike last summer for a combined £320m, the future was envisioned as a collective effort.
Ekitike, 24, started brightly before an Achilles tendon injury in April, while Isak (26) and Wirtz (23) are expected to take on greater responsibility in this new era of Liverpool football, after disappointing debut seasons.
Liverpool’s failure to sign another forward during the summer transfer window, despite losing Salah, has left them with a squad lacking in depth at the top end. They missed out on 19-year-old Yan Diomande to Real Madrid, and are close to agreeing a deal for Paris St-Germain’s Bradley Barcola, 23.
With Salah’s departure a year earlier than anticipated, the landscape has shifted.
Remember that, in light of these changes, Isak and Wirtz must step up to fill the void left by Salah.
