Whatever happens over the closing months of the season at Liverpool, Anfield will enjoy a sharper version of Alexander Isak after the break. That is the hope, anyway, since it’s been a rather torrid year for the British record signing.
In Isak, you can see a microcosm of a wider illness across Merseyside. Liverpool have not just fallen from grace but smacked against the turf and been left bruised by an unexplainable drop-off under Arne Slot.
There are mitigating circumstances and understandable variables that have played into what has been a disappointing year, but the brittle, weak underbelly, wastefulness in the final third and inability to do the basics have left the boss stratching his head.
Isak has been limited across the season, either absent through injury or lacking any of the superstar power that defined his time at Newcastle United, but he’s fit once again and could make a difference over the closing weeks of the season.
He will be needed next season, but with the Reds set to lose Mohamed Salah on a free transfer, they could really do with another elite forward.
Liverpool’s plan to replace Salah with the new Alexander Isak
Salah, 33, will leave Liverpool this summer, taking all his goals and his potency in the final third with him. Last summer’s duel signing of Isak and Hugo Ekitike was meant to help the succession plan, but it’s fair to say that nothing has quite come together.
|
Mohamed Salah’s PL Career at Liverpool |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Season (* PL Title) |
Apps |
Goals + Assists |
|
25/26 |
22 |
5 + 6 |
|
24/25* |
38 |
29 + 18 |
|
23/24 |
32 |
18 + 10 |
|
22/23 |
38 |
19 + 12 |
|
21/22 |
35 |
23 + 13 |
|
20/21 |
37 |
22 + 5 |
|
19/20* |
34 |
19 + 10 |
|
18/19 |
38 |
22 + 8 |
|
17/18 |
36 |
32 + 11 |
Isak scored 54 Premier League goals across three seasons for Newcastle, but he only has two for Liverpool. While Slot will be confident that his talisman will roar into life at some point, he probably needs some help.
While it’s a far-fetched hope, Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise remains Liverpool’s dream target to replace Salah on the right wing, with Football Insider confirming that FSG have their sights set on the Frenchman.
Olise, 23, has arguably been the best attacker on the planet this season, and Bayern know it, said to be relaxed about their prolific star’s future, placing a staggering £150m price tag on his head.
Even so, Olise is on the radar of the Anfield side, who are aware that replacing Salah is a must and that they would hit the jackpot if they were to bring him back to the Premier League.
Why Michael Olise could be Liverpool’s new Alexander Isak
Olise’s quality as one of the best players in the world is indisputable. The France attacker is one of the very best in the business, widely regarded as a leading contender for the Ballon d’Or at the end of the year.
If Bayern Munich win the Champions League, he will surely consolidate that position.
This season, Olise has scored 17 goals and supplied 29 assists across all competitions. That is absurd, and the distribution of his output across domestic and European fronts only underscores the fact that he is headed toward superstardom.
Take his performance at the Bernabeu last week, for example. Die Roten claimed a rare and priceless victory, and he was right at the heart of it. Olise registered an assist, but he also won ten duels and danced past opponents all game.
It might seem silly to say that he could be Liverpool’s new Isak, should he sign, but the fact is that few expected Isak to join Anfield before August 2025, when the forward agitated for a move and PIF finally caved in.
FSG were persistent, tenacious in their fight to sign one of the best in the business. Perhaps lightning could strike twice here, with Olise accomplished in the Premier League after his efforts with Crystal Palace and, more importantly, now established as one of the world’s best.
|
Most Assists in a Season in Europe’s Top 5 Leagues (21st Century) |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Player |
Season |
Assists |
|
Thomas Muller (Bayern) |
19/20 |
21 |
|
Kevin De Bruyne (Man City) |
19/20 |
20 |
|
Lionel Messi (Barcelona) |
19/20 |
20 |
|
Thierry Henry (Arsenal) |
02/03 |
20 |
|
Thomas Muller (Bayern) |
20/21 |
19 |
|
Kevin De Bruyne (Man City) |
14/15 |
19 |
|
Zvjezdan Misimovic (Wolfsburg) |
09/10 |
19 |
|
Michael Olise (Bayern) |
25/26 |
18 |
His matchless creativity would likely see him service Isak time after time in a Liverpool shirt, but, more importantly, he would represent a repeat of the club’s deal to sign one of the best strikers in the world, defying the odds to get the deal done.
After such a torrid campaign, it’s the kind of move that Liverpool need to make, reminding the world of their quality and signing a player who can put them back on their perch.
The word on the street is that Olise’s signature is going to be unattainable this summer, but the same said of Isak last year, and while the Sweden striker still has a lot to prove at Anfield, FSG’s ability to pull a rabbit out of the hat may well be called into play once more in the coming months.
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