No player has scored more goals on the first matchday of a Premier League season than Mohamed Salah for Liverpool.

But when the Reds begin their 2026-27 campaign under Andoni Iraola at Newcastle on Sunday (kick-off 16:30 BST) , Salah will be playing for Trabzonspor against Istanbul Basaksehir in the Turkish Super Lig, some 2,100 miles away.

It will be the first time since 2015 that Liverpool will start a season without any of Salah, Sadio Mane or Roberto Firmino in their squad.

Between 2015 and 2026, that trio scored a combined 488 goals (Salah 257, Mane 120, Firmino 111) for the Reds.

Salah netted 10 of those goals on the opening matchday - a Premier League record.

With the Egypt superstar out of the picture, the top scorer in Liverpool's current squad is Cody Gakpo with just 50 Reds goals.

When Liverpool signed Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike for a combined £320m last summer, the future was very much in mind.

It is impossible for one player to replicate Salah's achievements, with his goalscoring and creative burden needing to be shared.

Ekitike, 24, had an impressive start to life at Anfield before rupturing his Achilles tendon in April, and the hope is he will be fit for the second half of this season.

And both Isak, 26, and Wirtz, 23, will be expected to lead the way in this new Liverpool era after disappointing debut campaigns.

When it was confirmed in March Salah would leave this summer, Liverpool were expected to make another statement signing - but with the season about to begin they are yet to do so.

"We need a squad that is able to compete on all four fronts, that's the only way to try to be successful," captain Virgil van Dijk said this week.

"Let's see what the last couple weeks of the transfer window brings and then let's go for it."

Reds pivot from Diomande to Barcola

It has been more than five months since Salah's exit was confirmed and Liverpool's hunt to sign another top-class forward goes on.

They failed in their pursuit of 19-year-old rising star Yan Diomande, who went to Real Madrid from RB Leipzig for a fee worth up to £120m.

Ekitike's injury absence means another attacker is even more of a priority - and there is growing confidence a deal will be struck for Paris St-Germain's Bradley Barcola.

The 23-year-old France winger is understood to be open to the move. PSG initially sought a fee in the region of £145m while Liverpool want to pay something closer to the £100m mark.

Liverpool explored a move for Barcola - who primarily operates on the left - last summer but opted not to pursue it as they were keen not to block Rio Ngumoha's pathway.

With Salah departing a year earlier than expected, the landscape has changed.

At St James' Park last August, Ngumoha became the youngest goalscorer in Liverpool's history with a memorable 100th-minute winner.

The English winger turns 18 next week and will be able to sign a five-year deal then. He has been trialled down the right flank, where Salah played, in pre-season.

Iraola wants his wingers to be able to play on both sides and - judging by the signing of Victor Munoz from Osasuna - Liverpool want pacy options that are direct and have the ability to break down low blocks.

They had a £60m bid rejected for Brighton's Yankuba Minteh this week while a move has been explored for PSG's Ibrahim Mbaye.

On Sunday, the likelihood is Gakpo - who has attracted interest from Spurs - will start down the left while Ngumoha will play on the right.

Munoz - who looked lively against Como last week - can provide a spark off the bench while Iraola is also open to using Gakpo as a number nine.

Wirtz will operate primarily behind the striker and believes he is better equipped for the demands of the Premier League now.

With a season under his belt, there is a genuine belief among those at Liverpool that there is much more to come from the German, who scored seven goals and provided 10 assists last season.

The spotlight will also fall on Isak, who scored 62 goals in 109 games for Newcastle but only netted four times in an injury-hit debut campaign at Anfield.

Encouragingly, the link-up between him and Wirtz seems to have developed in pre-season.

'Isak has everything in his locker'

Iraola believes Isak, who cost a British record transfer fee of £125m, will be "very important" this season and is in "a very good place."

"We know his level and if we can keep him there he will score the goals and give us a lot of things," said Iraola.

"Probably my fight with him and my instructions are more in terms of without the ball and how he can help in his position when we are with the ball so he can open spaces for other players."

Former Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler also thinks Isak will be a "handful" for the opposition.

"I'm a massive fan. He's proven it in the Premier League before. For a number of reasons, including the injury, it didn't work out last year but he's an exciting player and he will score goals and be a handful," said Fowler.

"As a striker, the price tag wouldn't bother me because the focus should be entirely on performing. Alexander is world class and the price tag won't bother him either.

"He has everything in the locker, is exciting when he drives with the ball and he makes things happen.

"He excites the fans which is imperative for a club like Liverpool. Not only can he beat players - he can bring others into the game and he can score goals which is massive."

Without Salah - and as the wait for Barcola continues - where better to step up to the plate for Isak than at the place he once called home. (BBC)

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