Liverpool's Summer Rebuild: Diomande and Trincao Set to Transform the Wings

Liverpool’s summer rebuild is taking shape on the wings, and it is ruthless.

With Mohamed Salah set to walk away on a free despite a year left on his deal, Anfield is braced for a seismic reset out wide. He may not be the only one heading for the exit. Federico Chiesa has made it clear he will push to leave unless new head coach Andoni Iraola hands him a central role in his plans. Cody Gakpo, too, is on the market, with Liverpool ready to entertain what have been described as “important proposals” for the Dutchman.

This is not a gentle evolution. It is a clear-out with a purpose.

Diomande the headline act

At the heart of Liverpool’s new wide-forward strategy sits Yan Diomande. The 19-year-old Ivorian has been identified as the club’s priority target for the flanks, with The Athletic reporting that RB Leipzig now value him at more than €130m (£112m).

Leipzig’s stance is firm, but Liverpool have not backed away. Personal terms are thought to be more advanced with the Premier League side than with Paris Saint-Germain, and David Ornstein has confirmed that talks between the clubs have already begun.

Gakpo’s future is tangled up in that pursuit. While bold suggestions from elsewhere have linked Tottenham with a record-breaking move for the forward, the more grounded scenario has come from TEAMtalk, who report that Liverpool have floated Gakpo as a potential makeweight in negotiations with Leipzig to drag Diomande’s fee down.

The message is blunt: Liverpool want Diomande, and they are prepared to reshape their forward line to get him.

But one new winger will not be enough.

Trincao emerges as the second piece

With the prospect of up to three wide forwards leaving, Liverpool are moving on a second front. Francisco Trincao, once a misfit in England, is firmly back on their radar.

Correio da Manha recently revealed that Liverpool have been weighing a move for the Sporting CP winger, and the arrival of Iraola has not altered that stance. If anything, the interest has hardened. The Portuguese outlet Record now goes further, stating that Liverpool are “closest” to signing Trincao by triggering his €60m (£52m) release clause and that the club sit “top of the list” of likely suitors.

It would mark a remarkable return to English football for a player many in the Premier League had already filed away as a near miss.

Trincao’s loan spell at Wolves in 2021/22 never truly ignited. Then owned by Barcelona, he flickered in patches but never burned. The move back home changed everything. A loan to Sporting turned permanent in 2023, and his game has surged.

Last season he delivered 13 goals and 18 assists in all competitions, a 31-contribution haul that underlines just how far his end product has come. For the second year running, he earned a place in the Primeira Liga team of the season. The left-footer now cuts a very different figure from the tentative winger who left Molineux.

That is the version Liverpool are paying attention to.

A new era on the flanks

Taken together, the Diomande and Trincao pursuits sketch out a clear vision. Liverpool are not simply replacing Salah; they are reimagining the entire profile of their wide players.

Diomande brings explosive, high-ceiling potential at 19. Trincao offers a more mature, technically polished option entering his prime at 26. Around them, the futures of Salah, Chiesa and Gakpo will dictate just how radical this overhaul becomes.

What is certain is that Liverpool are no longer dabbling at the edges of their squad. They are ripping up one of the most iconic forward lines of the modern era and building a new one in its place.

Whether that gamble restores them to the summit or leaves them exposed will define Iraola’s first seasons at Anfield.