Liverpool have only themselves to blame for not signing the perfect successor to Mohamed Salah for a bargain fee in 2024, according to a transfer journalist, who has revealed the cost of a deal in 2026 for manager Arne Slot and sporting director Richard Hughes.
Mo Salah signed a new contract with Liverpool in April 2025 that will see him stay at the defending Premier League champions until the summer of 2027. While the Egyptian forward remains a world-class forward and a goal machine, he is 33 now, and Liverpool have thinking about a younger player who can eventually replace him on the right wing.
Michael Olise has emerged as a leading candidate to succeed Mo Salah at Liverpool, with The Daily Mail journalist, Lewis Steele, reporting on September 4 that the winger is one of the options that Slot and Hughes are considering.
Journalist Alan Nixon has also reported Liverpool’s interest in Olise, who is on the radar of Real Madrid and Manchester City, too.
German journalist Christian Falk has now given his own take on the situation, revealing how much Bayern will demand for the winger they signed from Crystal Palace in the summer of 2024.
According to Falk, Liverpool missed out on a bargain deal for the 23-year-old France international when they let Bayern trigger his release clause.
Falk told CF Bayern Insider: “I think on the island, they see what a big player Michael Olise is.
“When Bayern Munich triggered his release clause at Crystal Palace, there was just Newcastle involved in the poker with Bayern Munich, so they could make it work.
“I think if, at that point, Liverpool or City had also been at the table, it would have been really more complicated.
“But now they see what a player he could be. At Bayern Munich, he’s the player of the year, based on early performances.
“I talked with Thomas Müller about him, and he said he’s the new leader in the team. He’s not talking a lot, but he’s always showing, ‘Give me the ball and I will make something special’.
“And now, yes, teams like Liverpool, and I heard also Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City are watching him very, very closely.
“And because Bayern bought the player for €60m [£52.3m, $70.2m] from Crystal Palace, if an interested party pays a price over the €100m [£87.2m, $117m] mark – Bayern Munich have to think about it.
“But they want to keep him, and now they’re trying to give him a new contract so that they don’t lose him.”
How has Michael Olise fared at Bayern Munich?
During his time at Crystal Palace, Olise established himself as one of the best and most dynamic wingers in the Premier League.
The Frenchman scored 16 goals and gave 25 assists in 90 appearances for Palace before earning the big move to Bayern in 2024.
Olise has taken his game to another level at Bayern, as he won the Bundesliga title last season and scored 20 goals and gave 23 assists in 55 appearances for the Bavarian giants.
The right-winger has been on fire this season, finding the back of the net four times and providing four assists in eight matches in all competitions.
Olise’s performance for Bayern against Chelsea in the Champions League hugely impressed Pat Nevin, with the former Blues winger comparing him to ex-Real Madrid star Laurie Cunningham and describing him as “super human”.
Bayern manager Vincent Kompany has raved about Olise this season and said about him in August: “I certainly expect him to get even better. I’ve seen the development of talents like him many times.
“The most important thing is what they do in training every day. I see total calmness in Michael. He comes up to us because he wants to get even better.
“He’s now won things for the first time, but he has to keep going. I hope he can make further progress and that the Bayern fans will get joy from him for a long time.”
Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund added: “We generally don’t talk about contract details. Our aim is that Michael will stay at FC Bayern for a long time. He’s an exceptional talent.”
Latest Liverpool news: Everton raid, Dayot Upamecano demands
It is not just a winger that Liverpool want to sign in the upcoming transfer windows, with the Merseyside club also keen on bringing in a new defender.
Liverpool are said to have taken a shine to an Everton star, with Manchester United also keen on a January deal for him.
Marc Guehi, though, is Liverpool’s top centre-back target, sources have told TEAMtalk, and Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has given his brutally honest verdict on the situation.
In other Liverpool news, trusted journalist Fabrizio Romano has delivered an update on Ibrahima Konate’s situation, with the France international centre-back out of contract at the defending Premier League champions at the end of the season, while Dayot Upamecano has made a huge demand of Bayern Munich after learning of the Reds’ interest in him.