Isak and Wirtz tasked with filling Liverpool’s goals void as season opens at Newcastle

Liverpool begin their 2026-27 Premier League campaign at Newcastle on Sunday (kick-off 16:30 BST) while Mohamed Salah will be playing for Trabzonspor against Istanbul Basaksehir in the Turkish Super Lig, some 2,100 miles away. The absence of Salah from Anfield opens a scoring gap the club must address in the opening match and beyond.

This is the first time since 2015 Liverpool will start a season without Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane or Roberto Firmino in the squad; between 2015 and 2026 the trio scored a combined 488 goals (Salah 257, Mane 120, Firmino 111) for the Reds and Salah alone netted 10 opening-day goals, a Premier League record. Liverpool spent a combined £320m last summer on Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike with the latter rupturing his Achilles tendon in April and expected, the club hope, to be available in the second half of the season. Both Isak, 26, and Wirtz, 23, are expected to carry more responsibility after disappointing debut campaigns.

When Salah's departure was confirmed in March, Liverpool were widely expected to make another high-profile signing but none has arrived so far and the club's search for a top-class forward continues more than five months on. Captain Virgil van Dijk said: "We need a squad that is able to compete on all four fronts, that's the only way to try to be successful," and added: "Let's see what the last couple weeks of the transfer window brings and then let's go for it." The club failed in a pursuit of Yan Diomande, who moved to Real Madrid from RB Leipzig for a fee worth up to £120m.

Ekitike's long-term injury has intensified the need for another attacker and there is growing confidence inside Liverpool that Paris St-Germain's Bradley Barcola could be a target; the 23-year-old France winger is understood to be open to a move. The two clubs have been at odds over valuation, with PSG initially seeking a fee in the region of £145m while Liverpool want to pay something closer to the £100m mark.

Liverpool explored Barcola last summer but decided not to pursue the transfer so as not to block the pathway of Rio Ngumoha, who became Liverpool's youngest goalscorer last August at St James' Park with a 100th-minute winner. Ngumoha will turn 18 next week and will then be able to sign a five-year contract; he has been trialled down the right flank in pre-season.

Manager Andoni Iraola wants wingers who can play on both sides and Liverpool have added Victor Munoz from Osasuna as part of that strategy, seeking pacy, direct options capable of breaking down low blocks. The club had a £50m bid rejected for Brighton's Yankuba Minteh this week and have explored a move for PSG's Ibrahim Mbaye. On Sunday it is likely Cody Gakpo will start down the left with Ngumoha on the right, Munoz can provide impact from the bench and Iraola is open to using Gakpo as a number nine.

Florian Wirtz is expected to operate primarily behind the striker and believes he is better equipped for the demands of the Premier League now; he scored seven goals and provided 10 assists last season. Alexander Isak, who cost a British record transfer fee of £125m, scored 62 goals in 109 games for Newcastle but managed only four in an injury-hit debut campaign at Anfield, although pre-season work suggests the Isak–Wirtz link-up has improved. Iraola said Isak will be "very important" this season and is in "a very good place." He added: "We know his level and if we can keep him there he will score the goals and give us a lot of things. 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 made clear his endorsement of Isak, saying: "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," and added: "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."

With no Salah in the squad and transfer business ongoing, Liverpool will look to Isak and Wirtz to provide goals and creativity from the outset when they face Newcastle on Sunday (kick-off 16:30 BST), a fixture the club hope will show early returns from pre-season work and recent recruitment decisions.