Steven Gerrard did not bother dressing it up. "If you want to bring in a direct replacement for Salah, there are very few options out there," he told talkSPORT. Then he named one. "Olise would be one, I’d say."
And that is where the dream collides with reality.
Michael Olise is locked into Bayern Munich until 2029, a long, lucrative contract that hands the German champions all the power. Bayern see him not as a tradable asset, but as part of the club’s attacking identity for years to come. Any notion of a summer exit has been treated in Munich less as a threat and more as a punchline.
"These rumours make everyone at the club smile," Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said recently to As when asked about the Liverpool links and the whispers from Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. The supervisory board member then cut the story down to size: "He still has three years left on his contract – there’s nothing more to say on the matter. People come to the stadium for players like him."
The message from Säbener Straße could hardly be clearer. Hands off.
Reports in Germany and England have suggested Liverpool are ready to test that stance with a huge offer, a package said to reach around €200 million to bring Olise to Anfield. That figure alone underlines both the scale of Liverpool’s challenge in replacing Mohamed Salah and the level at which Olise is now operating.
Bayern, though, are not blinking. Sporting director Max Eberl has already shut the door, at least publicly. Speaking to Sport Bild, he insisted the club are not wasting "a single thought" on selling Olise. For a player who only arrived from Crystal Palace in 2024 for €53 million, the speed of his elevation has been remarkable.
On the pitch, the numbers explain the noise. This season, the French international has been directly involved in 44 goals: 16 scored, 28 created. At 24, he has become one of the central pillars of Bayern’s attacking structure, a creative fulcrum with end product to match the hype. That blend of age, output and upside is exactly what Liverpool are searching for as they confront life after Salah.
And that is the heart of the problem. The more indispensable Olise becomes in Munich, the less realistic he looks as a solution on Merseyside.
Liverpool’s need is obvious. Salah, the man who reshaped the club’s modern era, has already confirmed he will leave the reigning English champions at the end of the season, walking away three years before his contract expires in 2027. Since 2017 he has been Liverpool’s guarantee: 255 goals in 436 appearances, a relentless stream of decisive moments that defined title charges and European nights alike.
Replacing that is not a transfer. It is a reconstruction.
The market offers few like-for-like options, which is why Gerrard’s assessment carries weight. Yet even he accepts that the Olise route is likely blocked. "I don’t think he’d be available," the former Liverpool captain admitted, fully aware of the political and financial muscle needed to pry a key player from Bayern at the peak of his rise.
So Liverpool face a different kind of puzzle. They can throw money at the problem, but they may not be able to buy the clean, one-name solution supporters dream about. The club’s recruitment team, long praised for their precision, will have to work at the edges, not just the headline.
"Liverpool’s scouting department will have several options in mind. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a one-for-one replacement," Gerrard said, backing the club to adapt rather than simply copy and paste Salah’s profile onto another right-sided forward.
That line hints at the next phase of Liverpool’s evolution. If Bayern keep the door bolted on Olise – and every signal from Munich suggests they will – Liverpool must decide whether to spread Salah’s output across multiple signings, reshape the front line entirely, or wait for another elite wide forward to emerge.
For now, Olise remains the ideal on paper and the impossibility in practice. The clock is ticking on Salah’s farewell, and Liverpool know sentiment will not score a single goal next season.
