Liverpool identify Olise as top target to replace Salah but Bayern insist he is not for sale
Mohamed Salah confirmed last week that he will leave Liverpool at the end of the season. The club has been bracing for this moment for months, and the name at the top of their summer wish list is Michael Olise.
According to Sky Sports and German outlet Bild, Liverpool view the 24-year-old Bayern Munich winger as their number one target to fill the gap on the right side of attack. But Bayern are making it clear that selling him is not something they are considering.
Olise's numbers make the interest obvious
The Frenchman has 11 goals and 17 assists in 25 Bundesliga appearances this season, plus 3 goals and 7 assists in 9 Champions League matches. He is averaging more than a goal involvement every 90 minutes across all competitions. At 24, he is entering the peak years that clubs like Liverpool are desperate to buy into.
Olise joined Bayern from Crystal Palace in July 2024 for a reported fee of around 60 million euros, including add-ons. His contract runs until 2029 and contains no release clause, which gives Bayern all the leverage in any negotiation.
Bayern are not budging
Sporting director Max Eberl has been blunt. "Michael is a Bayern player and he has all the opportunities a top player could desire here," Eberl said when asked about the Liverpool speculation. CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen backed that up, saying anyone who plays for Bayern knows the value of being at the club.
Reports suggest Liverpool have been prepared to bid as high as 200 million euros, which would smash the British transfer record. Real Madrid are apparently also circling with a reported 165 million euro offer. Neither has got anywhere.
The alternatives on Liverpool's list
If Olise proves impossible to sign, Liverpool have other names in the pipeline. RB Leipzig's 19-year-old winger Yan Diomande has been flagged as a strong like-for-like option on the right wing. Anthony Gordon, a childhood Liverpool fan currently at Newcastle, keeps coming up in discussions. Francisco Conceicao at Juventus and Bradley Barcola at PSG have also been linked, though Conceicao typically operates on the right while Barcola plays on the left.
Salah's departure leaves Liverpool without the player who has scored 10 goals and provided 9 assists across 34 appearances this season, a dip from his peak years but still a level of output that is extremely difficult to replace with a single signing. Liverpool's transfer strategy under Michael Edwards has typically leaned toward younger players with room to grow rather than established superstars, which may explain why Diomande and Olise top the list rather than a ready-made 30-year-old.
The Premier League resumes on April 10 with Matchweek 32 after the current international break. Liverpool have suffered their 10th league defeat of the season after a run of poor form that included a 2-1 loss at Brighton last weekend.
