Life after Salah - why Isak and Wirtz must step up for Liverpool

Liverpool will start the 2026‑27 Premier League campaign without Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mané or Roberto Firmino for the first time since 2015, as the Egyptian forward lines up for Trabzonspor against İstanbul Başakşehir in the Turkish Super Lig on Sunday, kick‑off 16:30 BST, roughly 2,100 miles from Anfield. Salah’s record of scoring ten goals on opening matchdays remains a Premier League benchmark. Between 2015 and 2026 the trio of Salah, Mané and Firmino contributed a combined 488 goals for the Reds—Salah 257, Mané 120, Firmino 111. Cody Gakpo now leads the current squad with just 50 Liverpool goals. Last summer Liverpool recruited Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike for a combined £320 million. Ekitike, 24, suffered an Achilles rupture in April and is anticipated to return for the second half of the season. Isak, 26, and Wirtz, 23, are expected to spearhead the new era after underwhelming debut campaigns. When it was confirmed in March that Salah would depart this summer, Liverpool were anticipated to secure another addition, yet no further signing has been completed as the campaign approaches. Virgil van Dijk stated this week, “We request a squad that is capable to vie connected each 4 fronts, that's the lone mode to effort to be successful,” skipper Virgil van Dijk said this week. “Let's spot what the past mates weeks of the transportation model brings and past let's spell for it.”