Liverpool’s Salah Gamble: Warnock Questions £62.5m Miss

Liverpool’s decision to head into the season without a like-for-like Mohamed Salah replacement has been branded a major risk – and Stephen Warnock believes there’s one £62.5m name Fenway Sports Group may regret missing most.

The club’s big swing this summer was Bradley Barcola. Liverpool pushed out a staggering £123m (€140m, $163m) on the former PSG winger on the penultimate day of the window, a fee just shy of a club record and a clear statement of intent.

Barcola now walks into the shadow of a giant. Salah leaves Anfield as a phenomenon, adored by supporters and sitting third on the club’s all-time scoring charts. Goals, assists, decisive moments – he defined an era.

But Barcola is not Salah. Not in profile, not in position.

He is at his best off the left, drifting inside, attacking full-backs from that flank. It’s an area where Liverpool are already stacked, with multiple options who prefer that side of the pitch. The right, Salah’s old territory, looks far thinner.

Late scramble, lingering doubts

Liverpool did try to address that gap. A late move for Ismaila Sarr came and went. Two bids for Yankuba Minteh were turned away. No deal. No direct heir to Salah.

Warnock, speaking to TEAMtalk in association with Gambler Media, did not dress it up.

“Ultimately, yes, it could cost them,” he said.

Then came the crux of the dilemma.

“Was there an adequate replacement that they thought could replicate what Salah was doing? I don’t think there is an adequate replacement because what Salah did was phenomenal.”

Liverpool stuck to their valuation model. They always do. Warnock, though, was surprised by the timing and profile of one of their late moves.

“Liverpool will have a valuation on players who they are willing to reach, and I found it quite strange that they decided to go in for Ismaila Sarr so late in the transfer window, with his age and his price.

“However, it is understandable why they didn’t pursue that move too much, probably down to Crystal Palace’s stance on him but also his age.”

Minteh intrigue – and a planning failure

Minteh, at 22, sits seven years younger than Sarr and carries a higher ceiling. Liverpool liked him enough to bid twice. His fitness, Warnock suspects, may have influenced how hard they pushed.

“Yankuba Minteh is an interesting one because you wonder whether they’d have really pushed for that move had he been fully fit,” he said.

Then came the most stinging line of all.

“The funny thing is that they have known for so long about Salah leaving, but they still haven’t found a replacement. I always think you should be looking two or three seasons ahead; with injuries, dips in form, you’ve always got to be thinking about who is next in line.

“I just feel like Liverpool haven’t rectified that situation, and I find it absolutely incredible to be honest.”

Warnock can see a scenario where Liverpool revisit Minteh in January. He also knows how volatile that market can be.

“I think they possibly will go back in for Minteh in January, but there might be someone else who pops up on the radar between now and then…”

Semenyo and Diomande: the ones that got away?

Barcola’s arrival ended a chase that stretched back close to a year, but he was not the original headline act on Liverpool’s shortlist.

The club had tracked Antoine Semenyo last January, only to watch Manchester City move in and complete a £62.5m (€73m, $84.5m) deal. Earlier in the summer, Yan Diomande occupied plenty of Liverpool’s attention.

Warnock still cannot quite fathom how Semenyo slipped away.

“I found it really strange at the time that they didn’t buy Semenyo,” he said.

“For the price he was at, and yes, it was inflated, but he’s a proven Premier League player, an absolute powerhouse who scores goals, reliable, durable – he just ticks every single box.”

Semenyo has hit the ground running at City, something even Warnock did not fully expect.

“I didn’t think he’d do what he’s done at Man City so quickly; I thought it would have taken him some time to settle in, but I think Liverpool really missed out on one there.”

Minteh could come back into focus once more, but Warnock stressed how tight the margin for manoeuvre will be.

“I can see them going back in for Minteh, but it really depends on his form between now and January once he gets himself back fit, but it’s going to be very difficult as that is such a short window.”

On Diomande, the former Liverpool defender sounded more cautious.

“Yan Diomande was one they also wanted, but having seen him at the World Cup, I’m not entirely sure he’d be the right fit for £100 million, I think £50-60 million would have been a realistic value for him, but everyone works on potential now and thinks about what they might be capable of in 10 years’ time.”

Barcola steps into the spotlight

While the debate rages about what Liverpool did not do, Barcola becomes the face of what they did.

The Frenchman’s unveiling and early performances sparked a viral reaction, not least when Jamie Carragher fired off a 14-word tweet that sent Liverpool fans into fits of laughter and optimism online.

The numbers are brutal: Salah’s output, the fee for Barcola, the £62.5m price tag on Semenyo, the rejected bids for Minteh. The question is simple enough.

Will Liverpool’s refusal to land a true right-sided successor define this season – or will Barcola and a reshaped attack prove that the old template is gone for good?