Arne Slot knows what Liverpool must do after Michael Olise's performance for Bayern Munich against PSG on Tuesday
Michael Olise of FC Bayern München carries the ball during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Quarter-Final First Leg match between Real Madrid CF and FC Bayern München
Michael Olise was in inspired form against PSG(Image: 2026 Ion Alcoba Beitia)
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Tuesday night saw Bayern Munich winger Michael Olise demonstrate what Liverpool have been missing this season in a devastating showcase of his talents. Quite simply, if Arne Slot was tuned into Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League semi-final tie with Bayern, he would be under no illusions that Liverpool's summer wish list should have the 24-year-old at the top of it.
The Frenchman has been one of the stand-out players across Europe this season, scoring 20 times and claiming 29 assists in 47 games. Olise was again on target on Tuesday night as Bayern and PSG played out a Champions League clash for the ages, as the Germans lost 5-4 to Luis Enrique's side at the Stade de France in the first leg.
Liverpool are bracing for life without talismanic winger Mohamed Salah next year after he announced in March his intentions to leave the club this summer. The concept of having to replace a player who has raced to number three on the club's all-time top scorers list in just under nine years is almost unfathomable.
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Yes, it's a brutal reality facing Slot, Richard Hughes, the club's sporting director, and Liverpool's football executive, Michael Edwards. But the answer to that conundrum was dancing along the touchline, cutting inside and making ribbons out of PSG fullback Nuno Mendes on Tuesday evening in Paris.
The mere sight of Olise marauding up the right flank on Tuesday night, tormenting and probing the PSG backline with his left foot, will have given every Liverpool fan watching pangs of envy. There's no doubt that Slot's side have missed a burst of pace and creativity from out wide this season.
Ex-Reds favourite Luis Diaz was also a thorn in the side of PSG all night. The debate over just how sensible it was to let the Colombian depart Anfield for the Bundesliga last summer will rumble on for as long as Liverpool struggle.
Michael Olise celebrates with Luis Diaz after a Bayern Munich goal
Michael Olise celebrates with Luis Diaz after a Bayern Munich goal(Image: Christina Pahnke - sampics/Getty Images)
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Yet they can rectify that supposed misstep by making a move for Olise this summer. The former Crystal Palace player's performance against PSG felt like a star-making one.
Ex-Liverpool winger Jermaine Pennant has seen enough. "Liverpool go out and get Olise right now, at all costs," he wrote on X. "There is your replacement for Mo Salah. AT ALL COSTS. Any amount plus [Cody] Gakpo."
It won't be easy to pry Olise from Bayern Munich, even if Liverpool throw in a sweetener like Gakpo. He is under contract with Bayern until 2029, having arrived from Crystal Palace back in 2024 for a reported £51million.
Bayern Munich chief Karl-Heinz Rummenigge claimed his club would even resist a world-record offer for Olise this summer - a record Liverpool would unlikely look to smash after their record-shattering purchases of Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak last summer.
"He's a wonderful player," Rummenigge told German media outlet t-online. "By the way, I also like the fact that he is so reserved and almost media-shy.
"This is the exception in today's world. He's a good guy, and on the pitch, he's, of course, outstanding, the way he celebrates football and almost does magic. That's why I'm not surprised that he is so incredibly popular and hyped by our fans."
Should the Reds try their luck with a stunning offer, Bayern are ready to stand firm. Asked if the German powerhouse could realistically afford to turn down a £173m offer for Olise, Rummenigge replied: "I'll tell you a story from the past.
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot and forward Mohamed Salah
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has a big job on his hands in replacing Mohamed Salah(Image: Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
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"In 2009, we had an incredible offer from Chelsea for Franck Ribery. That would have been a new transfer world record at the time. I then took it to our CFO at the time, Karl Hopfner and Uli Hoeness. We discussed for two hours what we were going to do with this offer.
"On that day, we decided something fundamental: that we would not sell any more players in the future who we would miss on the pitch. And this unwritten law still applies today. For a player like Olise, there is no price tag that would make us cringe."
Whatever the cost, Liverpool are in dire need of the pace, creativity and output Olise showed Europe against PSG. Now more than ever, they need to put their money where their mouth is and bring the player who can fill the boots of Salah before one of their rivals beats them to the chase.
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