Liverpool Targets Ibrahim Mbaye as Salah Replacement

Liverpool’s rebuild has been busy, but not complete. Three new faces are already through the door, yet the squad still feels short of the standard required to chase major honours again after last season’s drop-off.

One area glares more than any other: the right side of the attack. Mohamed Salah has gone, and with him a level of output and reliability that has underpinned Liverpool’s success for years. No one truly replaces that. They can only follow it.

Now, Anfield may finally be closing in on a candidate.

First bid lined up for Mbaye

According to journalist Loic Tanzi, Liverpool are preparing their opening offer to Paris Saint-Germain for Ibrahim Mbaye, with a bid expected “in the coming days,” as he posted on his personal X account.

Up to now, Liverpool have been linked with a string of names. Victor Munoz, Federico Chiesa and Jeremie Frimpong have all been mentioned as potential options who could operate on the right. Useful players, certainly. But the sense around the club is that a specialist, top-level attacker is still missing.

That is where Mbaye enters the picture.

An 18-year-old with senior pedigree

On paper, he looks like a remarkably smart piece of business.

Mbaye is only 18, yet he already owns a senior scoring record that would turn heads for a player several years older. Across his young career he has 19 goals, and he has broken into the Senegal national team with 15 caps and four goals to his name.

Those numbers hint at a player who does not freeze under the weight of the stage. Fifteen games for a strong Senegal side at his age is not a token gesture; it is evidence that coaches trust him in real contests.

Crucially for Liverpool, he is a natural right‑winger. That alone makes him stand out in a squad packed with forwards who prefer the left or the middle. The tactical fit is obvious.

Depth issues and a homegrown twist

Strip away the big names and Liverpool’s depth looks fragile. Some positions are stacked with talent, but the performances of several squad players last season showed a group not yet ready to grind through a title race.

Mbaye would not solve every problem, but he would push the squad in the right direction. He brings goals, versatility across the front line and, importantly, time. Liverpool would be buying potential that can be moulded, not a finished article on the decline.

There is another layer that makes him attractive. Because of his age, by the time he needs to be formally registered in Liverpool’s Premier League squad, he will qualify as homegrown. That status has become a quiet headache for the club as they try to refresh the group without clogging up non-homegrown slots.

Signing a young, international-level winger who will soon count as homegrown ticks a rare combination of boxes.

PSG’s stance opens the door

The situation in Paris only sharpens Liverpool’s interest. PSG are understood to be open to moving Mbaye on, keen to clear space and reshape their own attack. When a club of that size signals a willingness to sell a talented teenager, elite sides pay attention.

For Liverpool, that willingness turns a long‑term scouting project into a realistic transfer. They would be stepping into a market opportunity rather than trying to prise away an untouchable prospect.

A natural right‑sided forward. Already a senior international. Homegrown-eligible in time. Available because his current club are ready to part ways.

In a summer when Liverpool must prove they can evolve without Salah, Ibrahim Mbaye suddenly looks less like a gamble and more like a statement.