Liverpool Targets Trincao as Salah Succession Plan

Liverpool’s search for life after Mohamed Salah has taken a fresh twist – and this time the spotlight has swung to Portugal.

Liverpool circle Trincao as Salah succession looms

Francisco Trincao, reborn at Sporting CP, has emerged as the latest name on Liverpool’s attacking shortlist as the club quietly prepares for the reality of a future without Salah.

Reports in Portugal claim Liverpool are weighing up a move for the 26-year-old, who has pieced together the most productive season of his career in Lisbon. Thirteen goals, 18 assists, 53 appearances across all competitions: the numbers are loud, but they only tell part of the story.

Trincao has operated off the right and from midfield, drifting between lines, linking play, and providing the kind of final-third output that inevitably catches the eye of data departments and scouts on Merseyside. His manager Rui Borges has already hinted that a summer exit is on the table, and in a market where wide forwards are rarely cheap or available, that matters.

Liverpool spent heavily last year, more than £450million across their rebuild, yet the feeling inside and outside Anfield is that the real question of succession still hangs over the right wing. Salah has been the reference point of this Liverpool era; replacing his goals, creativity and gravity is not a single-window job. It’s a strategy.

Trincao, according to Portuguese outlet Record, relayed via Sport Witness, is now firmly in that conversation.

Diomande door closes as Leipzig dig in

This shift in focus has not come out of nowhere. Liverpool’s recruitment team had been tracking Yan Diomande at RB Leipzig, only to watch the 19-year-old effectively close the door on a move – at least for now.

Diomande has enjoyed an outstanding first season in Germany after arriving from CD Leganes last summer, his performances quickly drawing attention from across Europe. Liverpool were not alone; Manchester United also joined the queue in recent weeks.

The response from the player, though, has been blunt. Asked if he expects to still be at Leipzig for the 2026/27 campaign, he answered: “Yes.”

Pressed on the growing speculation, he told German publication Kicker that his focus remains fixed on Leipzig.

“I’m not thinking about that right now. I’m at Leipzig and I enjoy playing here. In the end, it’s always the statistics that count. It’s been a fantastic year for me.”

The club hierarchy has backed up that stance with equal clarity. Red Bull chief Oliver Mintzlaff made it plain that Diomande is not for sale this summer, stressing that Leipzig have no interest in cashing in on a player who has yet to complete a full season there.

“I can say: If I were sporting director, I wouldn't sell this young player, who hasn't even completed a full season with us. No matter what price is being asked,” he said.

“I believe he's a player who can still develop further, because he's still very young. And he can certainly become more expensive.”

It was not just a refusal; it was a warning to suitors. Leipzig see themselves as a stepping stone, but not a revolving door.

“Of course, there are other clubs where players also want to take the next step – FC Bayern is one of them, but also clubs from England and Spain,” Mintzlaff continued. “But we have to expect that a player, even if he delivers outstanding performances here, doesn't leave again after just one year.

“Therefore, I can only recommend to the management that they keep this player with us for the coming season. And then we'll have to see how he develops.”

Champions League football, he argued, is a powerful bargaining chip for a teenager still carving out his name on the European stage.

“We want to play in the Champions League. And that's naturally an argument for such a young player, to then deliver what he's shown in a second season and potentially develop further – also at an international level.

“So we have many good arguments. And the best argument is a long-term contract. Therefore, I'm completely relaxed about the whole matter.”

A market that won’t wait

With Diomande effectively locked away in Leipzig for at least another year, Liverpool’s gaze has turned back towards players who can be prised away now. Trincao falls firmly into that bracket: in his mid‑20s, entering his prime, productive at a Champions League club, and already flagged by his own coach as a possible departure.

For Liverpool, the equation is clear. Salah will not go on forever. The next right-sided talisman, whether it is Trincao or someone else, has to be found before the current one walks away.

The question is no longer whether they move decisively in this window. It’s who they decide is worth carrying the weight of that shirt.