Waiting for Chelsea?! Nottingham Forest agree deal for Lyon star Malick Fofana but face serious competition from Blues and Bayern Munich with 20-year-old yet to agree personal terms | Goal.com India
Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has made quite a slow start to the Premier League season by his standards, scoring just one goal in three appearances for them in 2025/26 so far.
His performances have not been generally impressive either, though that is not much of a surprise given that he turned 33 earlier this year. In spite of having a contract at Anfield until 2027, the Reds are now pondering over his replacement’s signing.
Caught Offside has reported that Liverpool are keen on signing Olympique Lyon forward Malick Fofana as a potential fill-in for Salah after he did a decent job with the Ligue 1 side last year with 11 goals and six assists in all competitions.
Olympique Lyon’s precarious financial situation means that they will be entertaining offers for practically every player in the foreseeable future and Fofana is no different having been slapped with a £35 million price tag.
Salah warrants a better replacement
Malick Fofana is just 20 years old and has been recognised as one of the world’s most talented wingers. His asking price also reads well but it is debatable whether he is the right man to replace a player of Mohamed Salah’s calibre at Liverpool.
The Reds must go for a player who already has some experience at the top level, especially the Champions League under his belt, and financially, it does seem like they have more spending power heading into the future than they did in the recent past.
Fofana is undoubtedly an excellent forward but the Liverpool role, especially that of filling Salah’s boots might come too soon for him, and therefore somebody like Real Madrid star Rodrygo Goes would be a better option for the Premier League leaders.
Rodrygo’s exploits with Los Blancos need no introduction and he has been a player who has been linked with Liverpool in the past. If he remains a secondary option under Xabi Alonso, it will be interesting to see if the Reds consider his purchase over Fofana’s.