Liverpool are now a step closer to signing Michael Olise.
Liverpool’s biggest problem this summer might be the one they still haven’t solved.
Mohamed Salah has left the club, yet the Reds have still not found a convincing replacement for the Egyptian. That was always going to be one of the most difficult challenges of the transfer window, but with the new season approaching, the lack of progress is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
Liverpool knew what they were losing.
Salah was not simply another winger. He was the focal point of the attack, a player capable of producing goals, assists and moments of individual brilliance almost every week. Replacing that level of output was never going to be straightforward, but Liverpool needed a clear plan for what came next.
Yan Diomande appeared to be that plan.
The highly-rated winger was reportedly Liverpool’s dream target and someone viewed as capable of bringing the pace, explosiveness and one-v-one ability needed to fill the void left by Salah. Liverpool pushed hard to get the deal done, but Diomande ultimately chose Real Madrid.
That leaves Liverpool in a difficult position.
There are alternatives available, but there does not appear to be an obvious player on the market who combines the quality, potential and profile Liverpool are looking for.
They could compromise and sign someone who is not quite at the required level, but that would raise another question: why make an expensive signing simply for the sake of replacing Salah?
This is where Liverpool’s decision to allow Salah to leave becomes worth questioning.
If the club knew there was a possibility of losing its biggest attacking player, surely the succession plan needed to be watertight. It is understandable that Liverpool did not want to keep Salah indefinitely. At some point, every great player moves on.
But you cannot lose someone of his importance and then struggle to identify a suitable replacement.
That is the uncomfortable part.
Liverpool have already shown this summer that they are willing to spend huge amounts of money. They broke their transfer record to sign Alexander Isak and brought in Florian Wirtz for another enormous fee. So this is not necessarily about a lack of financial muscle.
It is about finding the right player.
And right now, Liverpool have not done that.
There is also a danger in waiting too long. The longer the window goes on, the fewer elite options are likely to become available. Clubs know Liverpool need a winger, and desperation can make transfers even more difficult.
Perhaps Liverpool ultimately decide that the answer is already within the squad. Perhaps another target emerges late in the window.
But for now, the reality is simple: Salah has gone, Diomande has joined Real Madrid, and Liverpool still have no obvious successor.
That makes the original decision to let Salah leave all the more difficult to understand.
However, there is another reality in which waiting makes a lot more sense.
That's because the perfect and dream target for Liverpool is obviously Michael Olise. However, there is no way he is moving from Bayern Munich this summer.
Next summer though, could be an entirely different conversation.
Olise will want to return to the Premier League at some stage and joining the Reds will make a lot of sense.
On top of that, the latest news of a consortium that includes Jeff Bezos buying a significant minority stake in Liverpool now being very close to having been agreed as per Sky News, there will be financial equity to pull off the deal.
A large consortium of the size that is being spoken about will want to do a big move in the next summer transfer window. That is why the latest investment in Liverpool will put the Reds one step closer to securing a move for Olise.
It's something to keep an eye on in the next 12 months.
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