Since Mohamed Salah announced that he would be departing Liverpool, there has been plenty of discussion over who could replace him.
The Egyptian King left Anfield over three months ago, and it still isn’t clear who the club view as his successor.
Victor Munoz and Bradley Barcola were both added in the summer, but neither is a clear natural fit in Salah’s old position.
Rio Ngumoha has been relied upon on the right-wing at times this campaign, but again he isn’t a long-term solution.
Liverpool may need to turn to the transfer market again to replace Salah, but they have just received a big blow in the pursuit of their best option.
Liverpool told top target prefers move to Spain
Michael Olise has long been considered the absolute premier option when it comes to replacing Salah.
The French international has been a revelation for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga and has forced his way into the Ballon d’Or discussion since his move from Crystal Palace.
For some time it felt as though Olise to Liverpool was inevitable, but now the forward may favour a move elsewhere.
That’s according to German football insider Christian Falk, who claims that Olise now favours a move to Spain over a return to England if he were to leave Bavaria.
Falk confirmed that a move back to the Premier League isn’t impossible, with several clubs in the division being ‘very interesting’ for Olise, but that Real Madrid are the team that excites the 24-year-old the most.
Olise produced 22 goals and 31 assists for Bayern last season and already has 12 goal involvements in nine matches this campaign, truly world class output.
Liverpool signing Olise would be the final piece in a long and expensive overhaul of the attack but would also instantly make the Reds challengers for every trophy available to them.
The challenge remains convincing the French international to move to Merseyside over Madrid, but with an already star-studded forward line the club will surely be able to make a convincing pitch.
A move for Olise won’t be straightforward, but is the absolute dream for many of the Anfield faithful, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Julian Ward and co try and convince the Frenchman to join England’s most successful club.