So Mohamed Salah returned from the African Cup of Nations this week, playing the full 90 as Liverpool brushed past Marseille in the Champions League.
The 33-year-old flattered to deceive, though, missing several golden chances and altogether struggling for fluency down the right flank.
It's been a tough season for Liverpool, and Salah has been at the centre of the woes, with his explosive fallout with Arne Slot in December tipping many to believe he was headed for the exit.
Mo Salah interview quotes - Liverpool
The Saudi Pro League beckons for the Egyptian King, the definitive superstar of this illustrious age on Merseyside. Salah is on £400k per week, and he's contracted to Liverpool until 2027, but he may be staring at the final stretch of his Anfield career.
How Liverpool will deal with Salah's departure
Salah's situation at Liverpool is complicated by the growing interest in Federico Chiesa, who is being chased by Juventus and who has never managed to sustain form and a starting role in Slot's system.
The Premier League champions have been nowhere near their best this season, but Salah's decline and the sale of Luis Diaz last summer, without bringing in a like-for-like replacement, could be rectified with a well-worked attacking signing in 2026.
Sporting director Richard Hughes has earmarked numerous targets over the past several months, but RB Leipzig's Yan Diomande is emerging as a leading candidate, according to Reds correspondent Lewis Steele.
Diomande, 19, has been one of the standout players in the Bundesliga this season, with his performances drawing any number of suitors to his slot on the transfer market.
Yan Diomande for RB Leipzig
But the Bundesliga side are not interested in selling, not in January. He has been priced at £100m, suggesting Liverpool are playing the long game, registering their interest now and tempting the 19-year-old prospect before launching a big-money bid this summer.
Tottenham Hotspur have also been credited with a vested interest, but by Diomande's own admission, he is a boyhood Liverpool fan who dreams of playing at Anfield.
What Diomande would bring to Liverpool
Described as a "generational talent" by journalist Bence Bocsak, Diomande has roared into life for Leipzig this season, having joined the Germans from La Liga's Leganes last summer.
yan-diomande-rb-leipzig-man-city
Back from an AFCON campaign with Ivory Coast that only backed up the hype around his signature, Diomande has scored seven goals and supplied three assists for Leipzig this term, with Bocsak also remarking that he's "destined to be special".
He can play on the left, but the teenager has proven himself highly efficient down the right channel, and in this, he could have established himself as the perfect Salah heir, especially when considering the club legend could be set to leave later this year.
Salah's was a Herculean effort last season. He scored 19 goals and provided 18 assists in the Premier League, supercharging Slot's title triumph. Perhaps he exhausted some of his remaining quality that year, for he has been far removed from last year's level since the summer.
Wasteful in front of goal and ineffective when in transition, Salah is on the opposite end of the spectrum to Diomande at the moment, whose efforts in the Bundesliga have seen him far outstrip the Liverpool icon.
Salah vs Diomande (League Form 25/26)
Stats (* per game)
Matches (starts)
Goals + Assists
Touches*
Shots (on target)*
Big chances missed
Accurate passes*
Chances created*
Dribbles*
Recoveries*
Tackles + interceptions*
Duels won*
Data via Sofascore
Diomande is young, and with youth comes risk, especially when such hefty figures are involved. But the Ivorian is quite clearly a top talent, someone who could nail down a talismanic berth on Liverpool's wing for years to come.
Salah is a legend, irreplaceable in a Liverpool shirt, but Diomande is his own player, and he's only on the up, with a natural sense for goal proving the perfect complement to his fast-paced, electric dribbling style.
mohamed-salah-liverpool
A "monster" in one-vs-one situations, as has been suggested by analyst Marcus Bring, Diomande would be a statement signing and then some from Liverpool, and they need to get it done.
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Liverpool are prepared to sign a top-class midfielder in 2026.