Liverpool makes Michael Olise ‘priority’ transfer target

Michael Olise is a ‘priority’ transfer target for Liverpool this summer, according to a new report. That’s a potentially significant development as plans are put in place for Mohamed Salah.

Since arriving from Reading, Olise has shone for Crystal Palace, and he is putting up some genuinely world-class numbers in a mid-table side. Per FBref, his non-penalty goals tally of 0.64 per 90 over the last year places him in the 99th percentile of attacking midfielders and wingers in Europe’s top five leagues. Remarkably, his expected assist tally is also in the very top percentile.

It’s thought that Arne Slot loves wingers, and while Olise is not necessarily in the explosive mold of some of the Feyenoord wide men, the new-look Liverpool recruitment team constructed by Michael Edwards will find it hard to ignore such numbers. After all, there’s something distinctly reminiscent of Salah in how the Frenchman can combine world-class goal output with game-changing creativity.

It’s Leeds Live that reports Liverpool’s interest in Olise. It claims that while the Reds were early front-runners for Leeds United star Crysencio Summerville — a compatriot of Slot, and perhaps a more classic winger — they have now pivoted to the Crystal Palace ace.

Olise is where Liverpool’s ‘transfer priority lies’, having kept a ‘close eye’ on him for a long time. That could in turn affect Summerville’s future, with Palace potentially looking to reinvest funds in pursuing the winger.

In a parallel development, Football Insider reports that Liverpool is on the hunt for a long-term Salah replacement. Such a player is expected to be ‘in the building’ soon.

Salah’s short-term future has become more clear recently. The player’s social media activity has indicated that he intends to be at Liverpool next season, which tallies with reports that the Reds have no intention of losing him.

Liverpool may well even sit down with Salah to discuss a new contract. But any such discussions will take place on the understanding that the Egyptian is turning 32, and will therefore need to be replaced sooner or later.