After his tirade back in December, where the 'Egyptian King' had suggested he was being "thrown under the bus" and blamed for Liverpool's recent results, there really was no coming back from that, despite what may have been uttered in the press by all parties since then.
Salah's form has been poor in 2025/26
Even if the hierarchy were able to overlook his outburst, Salah's form in 2025/26 has hardly done him any favours.
To date, he's managed five goals and six assists in 21 Premier League games this season.
In each campaign he's been at the club, he's never failed to score fewer than 18 goals, and it's difficult to imagine he'll bag at least another 13 in the Reds' final nine league matches.
To that end, it would be remiss of the club not to scout across Europe and beyond to see what players may be available and whether they will fit the system Arne Slot wants the team to play in.
One player whose name continues to be linked to the Merseyside outfit is RB Leipzig's Yan Diomande.
Diomande has been on fire for Leipzig
At only 19 years of age, he's at the opposite end of his career to the soon-to-be 34-year-old Salah, with his 10 goals and five assists in 24 Bundesliga games (19 as a starter) leading to wide acclaim.
Only Christophe Baumgartner has outscored him for Leipzig in 2025/26.
With a market value of just €47.2m (£40.88m), Diomande is well within Liverpool's grasp financially, albeit he does have a contract with the Bundesliga outfit until June 2030, so Leipzig are under no immediate pressure to cash in.
Indeed, it's believed that the Germans aren't willing to even consider his departure for anything less than €80m.
Why should Liverpool consider the youngster?
With only two seasons of senior football under his belt - including one at Leganes in La Liga - it could be said that the youngster doesn't have an awful lot of elite-level experience either, so what is it about him that would tempt Liverpool into making a move for his services?
The first thing to consider is his natural two-footedness.
Comfortable on either wing, his dribbling prowess and ability to bamboozle defenders have been a real feature of Leipzig's attacking play this season.
Unusually for a player with a decent burst of speed, too, he is physically imposing, which would likely serve him well in the more robust English top-flight.
Clinical shot accuracy
Diomande has been more successful in terms of his goals and assists output whilst playing on the right wing, but, unlike when Salah plays there, he can take his defender on by going either inside or outside.
A shot accuracy of 71% in this season's Bundesliga campaign is far better than Salah's 40% in the Premier League, as is his shot conversion rate of 23.8%, when compared to the Egyptian's 9.3%.
Salah has taken more total shots (54 to 42) in league play, though it's Diomande who has more on target (22 to 14).
The Liverpool man has also missed nine of his 12 big chances so far in 25/26, with the talented teen missing only four of his 10.
In terms of pass completion, here too Diomande has the better percentage (85.4% v 75.6%) and has attempted more total passes than Salah (772 to 619).
39 chances created from open play are also marginally better than the Egyptian's 34.
Although neither player needs to necessarily provide a supplementary defensive presence, they have both been involved in their fair share of one-on-one duels.
Salah has attempted 154 in this season's Premier League, winning only 46 for a relatively disappointing 29.9% success rate, whilst Diomande has attempted 278 in the Bundesliga, winning 134 for a more impressive 48.2%.
13 of Diomade's 21 tackles have been won (61.9%), and Salah has won eight of his 10 for an 80% success; the one area where he can say he's been better than his contemporary.
The numbers don't lie
However, the numbers don't lie.
If there's one thing that would tarnish Salah's legend at Anfield, it's if he outstays his welcome.
Regardless of the whys and wherefores behind the scenes, he's getting no younger, and the Saudi Pro League still view him as another player to really put them on the map.
He's unlikely to get a better financial offer anywhere else, given his age and dwindling skill set, so it's in his best interests to wave goodbye to Liverpool at the end of the current campaign.
If the club can then secure Diomande as his replacement, they will surely benefit from years of quality output from a player destined to go right to the top.
