Liverpool entered the 2025-26 season as defending Premier League champions, having claimed their 20th English top-flight crown in the previous campaign. However, the Reds find themselves in a strange spot this season, sitting sixth in the table with 45 points from 27 games as the title race slips away.
This is the first season since 2019-20 without Diogo Jota, who died in a car accident on 3 July 2025, and the first since 2015-16 without Trent Alexander-Arnold. With that in mind, Mohamed Salah‘s leaving at the end of the season is another massive blow for a club heading into a very difficult summer.
Gerrard names Michael Olise as his top pick, but reality tells a different story
Speaking on TNT Sports and talkSPORT, Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard named Bayern Munich‘s Michael Olise as the man he wants to replace Mohamed Salah at Anfield, though he admitted the move looks almost impossible. “All day long,” Gerrard said flatly when asked if he wanted Olise at Liverpool, before adding a dose of realism. Olise is at a club competing for the biggest trophies in Europe, and Gerrard sees no reason why the Frenchman would walk away. He also mentioned he “wouldn’t mind Diaz back as well,” referring to the Colombian winger who left Anfield at the start of this season.
But the problem is, why would he leave Bayern Munich? Big club, they’re challenging for the big honours, probably the strongest Bayern Munich team we’ve seen for a while. “He’s about to take the World Cup by storm come the summer, he looks like a really happy kid, settled… I don’t think he’s going anywhere. But yes, I would love him at Liverpool, and you know what? I wouldn’t mind Diaz back as well.”
Gerrard also discussed the subject on talkSPORT on Tuesday morning. “I think the concern, if you’re trying to replace Salah, in terms of like, for like, I think there’s very few out there that you can go and grab,” he said. “Olise would be one, I would say, but I don’t think he’d be available, but from experience, being around Liverpool as a player, and also since I’ve left, Liverpool’s recruitment team will have different options, and that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll look for a like-for-like.
“When we had to replace [Sadio] Mane, for example, we went for Diaz, who’s slightly different, or when [Luis] Suarez has left, they’ve had different types of options to try and replace the players. “But Liverpool have got a fantastic record of replacing top players that have gone before, so I’ve got every confidence from a recruitment point of view that they’ll have different types of options, not necessarily a like-for-like. “One thing is for certain, they have to try and replace some kind of his goal involvement in terms of goals and assists, which is extremely difficult because he’s been incredible for Liverpool for many years.” (Quote via Mirror)
How has the Bayern star performed?
The numbers behind Gerrard’s praise show why he’s a fan. In the 2025-26 Bundesliga season, Olise has scored 11 goals and picked up 18 assists in 26 games. That puts his goal involvement at 1.3 per 90 minutes and lands him in the top 99th percentile for non-penalty expected goals in the league. Most importantly, he is doing it on the biggest stage.
Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City set for three-way transfer battle to sign £60m star
In the Champions League quarter-final first leg at the Bernabéu on Tuesday, Olise played a major role as Bayern beat Real Madrid 2-1, setting up Harry Kane for the second goal after Pavlović won the ball in midfield. Gerrard admitted that finding a direct replacement for Salah is a huge task, noting Liverpool’s history of clever recruitment, such as replacing Sadio Mané with Diaz or finding creative options after Luis Suárez left.
Scorzo’s Take
The truth is that Gerrard’s wish, while genuine, doesn’t quite address the real problem Liverpool face this summer. Olise is a creator above all else, an instinctive player who likes to link up and unlock defences rather than the relentless finisher Salah has been for nearly a decade at Anfield. Liverpool don’t just need goals from the right wing; they need someone who can produce 20-plus goal involvements a season through pure individual quality, and that’s a very different job description.
On top of that, Olise’s contract at Bayern runs until June 2029. Any real transfer talk for the summer of 2026 would be a financial and diplomatic nightmare that Liverpool likely can’t handle. Gerrard’s bigger point about Liverpool’s scouting department does hold water, though. The club have a track record of finding players who fit a system rather than just buying a big name, and that calculated approach will probably work better than chasing a star who has no reason to leave Munich.
