Liverpool find perfect Salah replacement and are ready to make January signing

Liverpool believe they have found their “perfect” replacement for Mohamed Salah in the form of Bournemouth attacker Antoine Semenyo.

FootballTransfers revealed that Salah is planning to leave Liverpool at the end of the season, with the Egypt international legend a hard act to follow, despite a turgid start to the 2025/26 campaign by his lofty standards.

The 33-year-old is coming off arguably the best individual term in Premier League history after delivering 29 goals and 18 assists as he led Arne Slot’s side to the title.

By contrast, Salah has found the net only twice and laid on two more goals in eight league outings this season in a downturn few would have predicted.

Now The i Paper reports that Liverpool are eyeing a January move for Bournemouth star Semenyo amid concerns over Salah’s form as well as his impending absence for the Africa Cup of Nations.

Semenyo’s Ghana failed to qualify for that competition, so the 24-year-old will be available throughout January.

Who wants to sign him?

Competition is likely to be hot for Semenyo, with Manchester United and Chelsea having shown interest in the player in recent times. FootballTransfers exclusively revealed at the start of September that the Red Devils were “aggressive” in their pursuit of the winger in the summer.

Liverpool showed in spending €470 million during a record-breaking summer that they are willing to crush their rivals financially to get the deals they want. In particular, they went big on signing Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak from Bayer Leverkusen and Newcastle, with the money involved a decisive factor in landing both players.

Bournemouth, meanwhile, will do their best to play hardball over the winger. Man Utd and Tottenham Hotspur already had bids rebuffed in the summer.

Antoine Semenyo vs Premier League winners: Overall Performance (2024/25)

What is the value of Semeyo’s release clause?

Semenyo signed a new contract with Bournemouth at the start of July that includes a release clause, although it is unclear what the terms of this are.

While there has been speculation that Bournemouth want €115m (£100m) for the player, their asking price last summer was around the €85m (£75m) mark. The Cherries, however, want to retain the player until the end of the season.

Liverpool are thought to have strong relations with them after signing Milos Kerkez, and that could potentially ease through a deal for Semenyo.

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