With Mohamed Salah announcing he is leaving Liverpool at the end of the season, there are sure to be a host of names linked with signing for the Reds in the summer transfer window to replace him.
Succession planning has always been part of the thinking behind the scenes at Anfield and the Liverpool hierarchy have already been thinking about what they can do in their forward line, particularly after Salah’s bombshell interview earlier this season in which he claimed he was being “thrown under the bus” by the club and that he no longer had a good relationship with the manager.
Liverpool Target Three PSG Stars
Liverpool have already been linked with a number of forward stars, with GIVEMESPORT senior correspondent Ben Jacobs suggesting in his weekly newsletter that Bradley Barcola was one name high on the list of potential targets.
Not only that, but Jacobs also reeled off Kvicha Kvaratskhelia and Desire Doue, also from Paris Saint-Germain, as interesting players for the Reds. Anthony Gordon has been a long-term target for Liverpool, while Michael Olise has also emerged as a name in the frame for the Reds when the summer transfer window opens.
Olise would surely be the dream signing, given his form since arriving at Bayern Munich from Crystal Palace. Olise has 11 goals and 27 assists for the German giants this season, added to the 20 goals and 23 assists he got last year. It’s little wonder Liverpool are keen to bring him back to the Premier League.
Bayern Shut The Door On Olise Deal
But while Olise may be the dream signing he could cost another British transfer record fee for Liverpool to complete a deal, with talk of a £173million offer being made.
Honorary Bayern president Uli Hoeness poured cold water on any talk of a move, saying this week: “If that’s true, I don’t believe it is, but Liverpool has spent €500million (£433m) this year and is having a very bad season. So we won’t be contributing to them playing better next year.
“We play this game for our fans, we have 430,000 members, we have many millions of fans around the world. It does them little good if we have €200million (£173million) in the bank and play worse football every Saturday because of it.”
Diomande Will Be Cheaper Than The Other Options
There is a cheaper alternative to Olise – and Gordon, Barcola, Doue and Kvaratskhelia – and a deal that Liverpool may find it easier to get over the line and that’s for Yan Diomande.
Diomande is one of the Reds’ primary targets to replace Salah this summer and he is likely to leave RB Leipzig, with the German club open to a deal after getting him to stay in January, when Liverpool, and others, were keen on signing the teenager in an £87million deal.
Not only that, but he wants to join Liverpool too, admitting earlier this season: “I want to play at Anfield, I want to play for Liverpool.
“I’m a big Liverpool fan. My father’s dream is to see me play for Liverpool.”
The 19-year-old has 11 goals and eight assists in 29 games for the German side this season and is probably the standout alternative to Olise. he is much cheaper and is more likely to move on given the club he plays for. It would take something extraordinary for Olise to want to leave Bayern, whereas leaving Leipzig is a little bit easier to do.
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