Liverpool's Urgent Pursuit of Trincão: Time Is Running Out

Liverpool’s summer shortlist is already crowded, but one position keeps flashing red on the dashboard: right wing.

The club is bracing for another rebuild under Andoni Iraola, a necessary reset if they are serious about chasing down the Premier League title. That kind of charge needs clarity up front – who stays, who goes, who leads the line. By the end of pre-season, Iraola cannot afford any doubts.

He will take his time in the early weeks, running the rule over the squad he has inherited. But the market will not wait for him. Rival Premier League clubs are circling the same targets, fees are spiralling by the day, and hesitation now can mean paying a premium – or missing out entirely.

Right now, that risk has a name: Francisco Trincão.

A Narrow Gap, A Tight Deadline

In Portugal, the clock is ticking. According to A Bola, Al-Ahli and Sporting Lisbon are locked in talks for Trincão and are just €5 million apart in their valuations.

Sporting want between €50 million and €60 million for the 27-year-old. Al-Ahli have so far pushed to land him below that mark, with an initial approach effectively putting €45 million on the table, even before a formal offer. Sporting turned it down and have not budged from their stance.

Negotiations are ongoing, described as slower and tougher than Atlético Madrid’s pursuit of Morten Hjulmand. Al-Ahli’s sporting director, Rui Pedro Braz, is pressing to drive the price down, but the Saudi club’s interest is described as genuine, even after they spent €22 million on attacking midfielder Eduard Spertsyan from Krasnodar.

The gap is small. The opportunity is not. If Liverpool want to be in this race, they cannot lurk on the touchline much longer.

Life After Salah: A Shape Without a Star

Liverpool’s right flank, once the most predictable part of the team sheet, is now a puzzle.

Some supporters clung to the idea of a Mohamed Salah U-turn, one more twist in a decade of drama. It has not materialised. The club must now plan as if the Egyptian era is over.

On paper, the options are thin. Federico Chiesa and Jeremie Frimpong are currently viewed as the only established candidates for that right-sided role, yet even that feels fragile. Chiesa’s own future at Anfield is uncertain, with the Italian potentially heading for the exit.

Victor Muñoz can operate on the right, but he is far more natural and dangerous off the left. That leaves Iraola staring at a glaring imbalance in his forward line.

This is not a new problem. Liverpool’s need for a right-sided forward has been obvious for some time. The difference now is urgency: A Bola’s report suggests the Reds may have only until the end of the week to move decisively for Trincão before Al-Ahli close in.

Iraola’s Blueprint and the Trincão Fit

Iraola’s football is not a radical departure from what Liverpool fans have grown used to under Jürgen Klopp and Arne Slot. The structure is familiar, the intensity recognisable. But within that framework, his demands on the front line are specific.

He wants forwards who can break the last line, run beyond, and then slide out wide when the game stretches. Eli Junior Kroupi showed exactly that kind of movement throughout the 2025–26 campaign, constantly bending defences out of shape.

A striker like Hugo Ekitike would tick many of those boxes. Alexander Isak, with his blend of power, pace and finesse, would be an even more complete fit. Those are the kind of profiles Iraola admires through the middle.

On the wings, though, he asks for more than just pace and width. His wide forwards must both score and create, not merely hug the touchline and recycle possession.

That is where Trincão becomes more than just another name on a long list.

Last season, the Sporting winger delivered 13 goals and 18 assists – a haul that underlines both end product and playmaking vision. A left-footed right-sided forward, he naturally offers the kind of inverted threat that defined Salah’s role for years: cutting in, combining, finishing.

In terms of stylistic succession, Liverpool are unlikely to find a carbon copy of Salah. But Trincão comes close to the template.

Time to Decide

Liverpool know what the season demands. They cannot talk about titles while treating a key position as an afterthought.

The market has presented them with a narrow window. Sporting have set their price. Al-Ahli are at the table. The difference is €5 million and a few days of hesitation.

If Iraola and Liverpool truly see Trincão as a long-term answer on the right, this is the moment to act – or watch a near-ideal Salah replacement disappear into the Saudi night.