Liverpool have had to watch the later stages of the Champions League from the sofa, defeated by Paris Saint-Germain for the second season running in the quarter-finals.
Over two legs, the Reds were outclassed, Arne Slot chagrined once again. There ended Liverpool’s hopes of winning silverware this season, having also been thrashed by Manchester City in the FA Cup between the two legs.
Liverpool have elite talent at their disposal. Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak alone made up £240m of last summer’s outlay. But both have flattered to deceive this season, and with Hugo Ekitike injured and Mohamed Salah bowing out in one month, it’s clear that FSG need to dig into their pockets for attacking changes once again.
Liverpool plan to make attacking signings
While Salah is expected to return before the end of the season, Ekitike would be pleased with match action before the calendar year is out, having ruptured his Achilles during Liverpool’s second leg Champions League defeat at Anfield.
The 23-year-old has been excellent since arriving from Eintracht Frankfurt last summer, so for him to have picked up such a devastating injury is a cruel, cruel blow.
The importance of signing an elite forward this summer has been heightened, and no mistake. The Reds have shown interest in RB Leipzig’s Yan Diomande, but perhaps they should aim for a bigger catch.
Well, according to TEAMtalk, Liverpool have made a fresh approach for Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise in recent weeks, having entered talks with representatives earlier in the campaign.
Bayern, it will come as no surprise, are not interested in selling, even after placing the France international in the £120m-plus bracket.
However, let’s remind ourselves of the emphatic no that Liverpool had been handed in their bid for Isak. They ended up with the Sweden striker’s signature.
Why Olise can be Liverpool’s new talisman
Olise might arrive for a similar price tag as Isak (should he arrive at all), but the Frenchman could actually emerge as Liverpool’s new version of Ekitike, joining his injured compatriot at Anfield from the Bundesliga.
Olise, 24, is one of the best players in the world. The former Crystal Palace has put himself in the frame for the Ballon d’Or after two incredible years in Germany, going from strength to strength since last summer and now one of the favourites to receive that almighty accolade.
This season alone, he has been breathtaking, with Kane hailing his teammate as “the best winger in the world“. Olise has run rampant in Bundesliga all year long, but in the Champions League, with the stakes higher and the opponents tougher, he has maintained that level, scoring five goals and supplying six assists across 12 matches, winning 6.3 duels and completing 3.5 dribbles per game.
|
Most G + A from Europe’s Top 5 Leagues (25/26) |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Player |
G + A |
Total |
|
Harry Kane |
54 + 7 |
64 |
|
Michael Olise |
20 + 29 |
49 |
|
Kylian Mbappe |
41 + 6 |
47 |
|
Luis Diaz |
26 + 21 |
47 |
|
Erling Haaland |
35 + 7 |
42 |
He’s performing at a higher level than Ekitike was for Liverpool, with the recruit bagging 17 times under Slot’s management this season, but Ekitike is similarly talented, so dynamic and sharp in attacking areas. Moreover, Ekitike has shuffled out onto the wing to accommodate Isak, which is something we could see again before the end of the campaign.
While Wirtz has struggled to adapt to Premier League football this year, the Hammersmith-born Olise has a wealth of experience in England’s rigorous top divison.
He is a fantastic player, someone who would positionally replace Salah but emerge as an Ektike-esque forward who could end up being Liverpool’s focal frontman.
Ekitike will languish in the medical room for some time, but Olise could take his place as Liverpool’s main attacking man, potent in the final third but also a combative and intelligent cog in the build-up.
But Ekitike is still a world-class player, and the expectation is still that he will bounce back. Hopefully, Olise would bring his superstar quality from the get-go, sustaining it in Salah and the French forward’s absences as he leads Liverpool back to the top.
Diomande upgrade: Liverpool hold talks to sign “one of the best in the world”
Liverpool have set their sights on a player who could thrive at Anfield.
