Every top club faces this problem eventually: how do you replace a player who scored the way someone like Mohamed Salah did for a decade? Liverpool still haven’t fully solved that riddle, but Crystal Palace winger Ismaila Sarr may just the answer. Liverpool have submitted a fresh new offer after Palace already turned down an initial £50 million bid.
Liverpool’s Diomande and Minteh Pursuits Both Collapsed Before Turning To Sarr
It hasn’t been a straightforward hunt. Yan Diomande looked like the long-term solution at one point before choosing PSG instead, and talks for Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh fell apart entirely before Liverpool turned their attention to Sarr. He led Palace in scoring across all competitions last season with 21 goals, output that puts him among the more productive attackers outside the Premier League’s traditional elite. He’s not a carbon copy of Salah stylistically, but the pace, directness, and finishing are exactly the traits Liverpool have been missing on that flank since his departure.
Palace Have Given No Indication They’re Ready to Sell
Palace’s position has been firm throughout. Sarr is tied down through 2029, and new manager Pierre Sage — who took over from Oliver Glasner this summer fresh off a Ligue 1 Manager of the Year season at Lens — is reportedly hoping to keep both Sarr and Jean-Philippe Mateta rather than let his squad get picked apart in the final days of the transfer window. Palace’s rejection of Liverpool’s opening £50 million bid reflects that stance, but Sarr’s absence from Palace’s opening matches — officially attributed to injury, though widely tied to the transfer speculation — has only added tension to the situation. Galatasaray showed earlier interest as well, though nothing there ever moved as far as Liverpool’s pursuit has.
The Case for Sarr Over a Bigger Name
There’s an argument that Sarr is actually the smarter pickup here, price aside. At 28, Liverpool would be getting a player already in his prime rather than gambling on projected upside the way they would with someone like Minteh. He knows the league, he’s proven he can produce goals consistently in a good Premier League side, and he arrives with zero adjustment period needed. From a Crystal Palace perspective, they have little financial pressure to sell and could reasonably calculate that replacing his production this late in the window costs them nearly as much as they’d recoup in a fee.
Where Things Stand
What ultimately tips a deal like this is usually the player, not the price — and Sarr wanting out gives Liverpool real leverage even against a reluctant seller. Whether that’s enough to get a deal done before Tuesday’s deadline is still an open question, but for a club that’s spent the whole summer searching for its answer to life after Salah, Sarr represents the clearest option they’ve landed on yet.
Liverpool Turn to Ismaila Sarr to Fill the Right-Wing Void After Salah