Liverpool have been linked with an audacious move for Bayern Munich superstar Michael Olise, and now a big update has dropped regarding his future.
The Frenchman is one of the best players in the world on current form, with Bayern teammate Harry Kane waxing lyrical about him recently, saying:
“He has made an incredible start to the season. I already thought he was fantastic last year. He had a great World Cup and has continued seamlessly from there. I believe that, thanks to his age and his mentality, he will continue to improve.
“The players around him motivate him, and of course, so does the coach. He is in an excellent environment to improve and continue developing. Since the start of the season, he has raised his level significantly once again.”
The £170m-rated Olise has been mentioned as an exciting transfer target for Liverpool, being seen as the perfect natural successor to Mohamed Salah.
Signing such a special talent from Bayern is going to be difficult, however, both in terms of his price tag and them not looking to lose him, and now Bild report that they want to offer him a contract extension.
The 25-year-old’s current deal runs until the summer of 2029, but the Bundesliga giants want to extend it to 2032, seeing him as a huge part of their future.
Is Michael Olise an attainable target for Liverpool?
There is a reason why Olise is cherished so much by Bayern, with the France international a sensational addition since joining from Crystal Palace, scoring 50 goals and registering 58 assists in just 114 appearances.
The winger is a joy to watch on the right wing, producing silky moments of brilliance, but he also possesses the substance in the final third that makes him world-class, with Zinedine Zidane well aware of his “extraordinary talent”, saying:
“I saw him dribble past a defender, and I said to myself: ‘He’s going to score’. I was cheering him on with all my heart. He is an extraordinary talent. I love this type of player. When he plays, he wants to entertain the fans. But it doesn’t stop there. He has a great sense of the game, he anticipates the opponent’s movements, and he knows when to attack and when to drop back.”
Unfortunately for Liverpool, it is hard to see Olise joining them at any point in the near future, especially as the Reds have just forked out big money on Bradley Barcola from Paris Saint-Germain.
That’s now more than £100m spent on Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Barcola over the past year or so, and the money is unlikely to be there to smash their transfer record once again.
Olise may be unattainable for Liverpool, but they must continue to look at right-sided options, having strangely not signed a like-for-like replacement for Salah during the summer transfer window.
Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh continues to be mentioned as a possibility, and while he clearly isn’t on Olise’s level, a player of that ilk needs to come in soon, whether that be in January or next summer.