Richard Hughes will be VERY happy as €100m playmaker deal lined up

Liverpool are coming off the back of a summer of spending during which £450m was lavished on new players.

We’ve seen the sporting director Richard Hughes twice break the British transfer record – first for Florian Wirtz and again for Alexander Isak.

But this Liverpool team remains a work in progress – just a few months on from winning the 2024/25 Premier League title.

Certain elements within the team will need to be improved or replaced in transfer windows upcoming and the summer of 2026 is already shaping up to be a big one.

Liverpool require Van Dijk and Salah replacements

Certain Liverpool insiders have suggested that the big task facing Hughes and Arne Slot next year will be sourcing successors to both Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah.

The legendary duo are heading towards their mid-30s and with contracts expiring in 2027 the time will soon come when they are no longer Liverpool players.

And rather than scrabbling around for a new centre-back and right winger when Van Dijk and Salah have already left the club, it makes sense to sort that recruitment when they are still in situ.

It will lessen the burden on new signings and give VVD and Salah the chance to impart some of their knowledge and experience on the new faces.

In the case of Salah, it’s been speculated that Michael Olise is the chosen one.

Michael Olise is the chosen one

Having joined Bayern Munich in 2024 from Crystal Palace, Olise was the difference-maker in last season’s Bundesliga title win and looks set for another stellar season this term.

The 23-year-old has been tipped to move back to the Premier League at some point but is under contract at the Allianz Arena until 2029.

Therefore a fee of around €100m has been suggested for the France playmaker, who has scored three goals and provided two assists so far this term in the German top flight.

Liverpool “very happy” to pay €100m for Olise

Now comes a report in Sport Bild which claims Liverpool are best-positioned to land left-footer Olise, who would be a dream addition in the attack.

The report claims that Richard Hughes would be “very happy” to pay that kind of money for Olise – but also warns that Manchester City and Chelsea are also sniffing around.

Max Eberl, the Bayern director of football, was quoted as saying by the German outlet that the Bavarians hope to tie down Olise to a new contract in order to ward off suitors.

Bayern want new contract for Olise

“He will shape the future of this team,” he said according to a translation provided by Sport Witness.

“Michael has already made a lot of impressions in his first season. He’s a player fans come to the stadium to see; it’s simply fun to watch him play football.

“He still has over three and a half years of his contract, will increasingly become a decisive factor in FC Bayern’s game and shape the future of this team – if it’s up to us: the longer, the better.”

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