When Liverpool signed Victor Muñoz from Osasuna, he was always meant to be one of at least two wing singings, with the Reds still expected to make a significant signing to replace the departing Mohamed Salah. Of the linked names, Yan Diomande and Bradley Barcola were the two €100M favourites.
Diomande, though, was only ever using Liverpool to try—so far unsuccessfully—to get him the move he really wanted to Paris Saint-Germain. And with Diomande now looking like he might just stay at RB Leipzig, it means PSG in turn will be unlikely to sanction the sale of Barcola. Which seems to leave Liverpool without a top wing target.
Some Liverpool fans quite early on even predicted this was how it would go, and that having failed to land their top guys the Reds would do what they’ve often done in the past and pivot to telling fans that they don’t need signings and can work with what they’ve already got.
Those people may deserve a very sad cookie today, as [The Echo’s Paul Gorst](https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/andoni-iraola-seeks-clarity-35m-34261191) has floated the idea that Liverpool may believe they’ve had their Salah replacement all along in 17-year-old winger Rio Ngunoha, who the club is claimed to be looking at for a potential move to the right to be used as Liverpool’s first choice option and Salah replacement.
Liverpool’s sales of winger Luis Diaz last summer along with striker Darwin Nuñez, not to mention the tragic passing of Diogo Jota, left the club woefully thin in attack in 2025-26 and towards the end of the season the briefings had the Reds determined to sign two elite wingers—both to fill that void and to cover for Salah’s looming departure.
Suffice to say, losing Salah now, only replacing him with Muñoz, and still not failing to address the squad shortcomings left behind by last summer’s transfer market failures by sporting director Richard Hughes while counting on a 17-year-old to contribute consistently at an elite level would be a minor disaster.
Hopefully this is all just chatter and a top winger arrives soon, but with pre-season near and so far only one signing completed for a squad with numerous significant gaps, we may soon have to reckon with a reality where the failures of Hughes and the recruitment team see the club head into 2026-27 with the squad looking worse than last year.
Liverpool also have Jeremie Frimpong on the books, with the undersized right back struggling both for fitness and to convince when he was fight at his natural position, and should the club fail to make another top level wing signing he could also be utilized as a forward next season.
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* [Liverpool Transfer News & Rumours](/liverpool-fc-transfer-news)