Report: FSG identify ‘ideal Salah heir’ for Liverpool, but there’s one critical snag | OneFootball

Liverpool chiefs have reportedly identified their ‘ideal’ long-term successor to Mo Salah at Anfield, but any efforts to entice him to the club could prove rather complicated.

The Egyptian is contracted to the Reds until June 2027, but with the legendary winger turning 35 that month, FSG now need to think long and hard about who’ll be tasked with trying to replicate his impact on Merseyside.

One prospective replacement whose name has come up frequently in transfer dispatches over the past few months is Michael Olise, with Lewis Steele pinpointing him as ‘one to watch‘ in terms of potential signings at Anfield this year.

Liverpool identify Olise as ‘ideal Salah heir’

According to Graeme Bailey for TEAMtalk on Monday, the Liverpool hierarchy are ‘unanimous in their belief’ that the Bayern Munich forward ‘represents the closest thing to an ideal Salah heir’, having been convinced by the 24-year-old’s ‘blend of creativity, end product and tactical intelligence’.

While Yan Diomande, Nico Williams, Desire Doue and Bradley Barcola have all been cited as desirable alternatives, Olise is viewed as their primary right-sided attacking target, but they could find it quite difficult to prise him from his current club.

Sources close to the Frenchman have indicated that the ex-Crystal Palace winger is in no rush to return to the Premier League, and Bavarian chiefs are also intending to open talks over a new contract for the player, even though he’s already tied down at the Allianz Arena to 2029.

(Photo by Sebastian Widmann/Getty Images)

Olise would be an elite successor to Salah for Liverpool

One look at Olise’s G/A output from this season makes it clear why Liverpool would view him as the dream successor to Salah, with the 24-year-old racking up 13 goals and 25 assists in 34 games for Bayern.

His underlying statistics from the current campaign also highlight the threat he poses to opposition defences, as seen in the table below comparing his figures to positional peers in the Bundesliga in 2025/26 (via Fotmob).

It therefore comes as no surprise that Vincent Kompany’s side would reportedly demand an offer in the region of £120m to even consider parting with the Frenchman, and it remains to be seen whether or not that’d be feasible for the Reds in the summer transfer window.

Qualifying for the Champions League would obviously help Liverpool’s cause not just in terms of the financial scope to make such a lucrative signing, but also in being an attractive proposition for Olise if he could be tempted away from Munich.

At present it’s difficult to envisage Arne Slot’s side securing a big-money move for the 24-year-old, but FSG would be right to shoot for the stars when it comes to sourcing a long-term replacement for Salah.

The moment of truth could come in summer of this year, should LFC receive an irresistible offer for the Egyptian as he enters the final 12 months of his contract, but hopefully we can wring every last possible match, day, week and month out of the legendary winger while he’s still on Merseyside.