Liverpool approach signing £120m Ballon d’Or candidate Ekitike 2.0

Liverpool lost to Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals for the second consecutive season, leaving them to watch the final stages of the Champions League from their sofa.

The Reds were on the back foot for two games, and Arne Slott once again showed his frustration. Liverpool also lost to Manchester City in the FA Cup this season, ending their hopes of winning a silver medal.

Liverpool have elite talent at their disposal. Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak alone accounted for £240m of last summer’s spending. But both have been deceptive this season, and with Hugo Ekitike injured and Mohamed Salah leaving the club after a month, it’s clear that FSG will need to dig deep into their pockets for another attacking change.

Liverpool plans to sign attacking players

Salah is expected to return before the end of the season, but Ekitike, who ruptured his Achilles tendon in Liverpool’s Champions League second leg defeat at Anfield, will be content to play before the end of the calendar year.

The 23-year-old has been in great form since joining from Eintracht Frankfurt last summer, so sustaining such a serious injury is a brutal blow.

There is no doubt that the importance of signing elite forwards this summer has increased. The Reds are interested in RB Leipzig’s Yann Diomande, but perhaps they should go after something bigger.

Now, according to TEAMtalk, Liverpool have made a new approach to Bayern Munich’s Michael Olysse in recent weeks, entering into negotiations with representatives early in the campaign.

Unsurprisingly, Bayern have no interest in selling the French international despite having a price tag of over £120m.

But remember Liverpool’s emphatic no to signing Isak. They ended up acquiring the signature of the Swedish striker.

Why Olise could be Liverpool’s new talisman

Olise may join for a similar price to Isak (if he actually does), but the Frenchman could actually emerge as a new version of Liverpool’s Equitique, joining his injured compatriot from the Bundesliga at Anfield.

Oliseh, 24, is one of the best players in the world. The former Crystal Palace man was named in the Ballon d’Or slot after two impressive years in Germany and has gone from strength to strength since last summer and is now one of the favorites to win the almighty honour.

He has been spectacular this season alone, with Kane hailing his team-mate as “the best winger in the world”. Olise ran rampant in the Bundesliga all year, but in the Champions League, where the stakes were higher and the opponents tougher, he maintained that level, scoring five goals and providing six assists in 12 games, winning 6.3 duels and 3.5 completed dribbles.

He has performed at a higher level than Ekitike at Liverpool, scoring 17 times under Slott this season, but Ekitike is just as talented, dynamic and sharp in attack. Additionally, Ekitike has been shuffled out to the wing to accommodate Isak, something we could see again before the end of the campaign.

While Werts has struggled to adapt to Premier League football this year, Hammersmith-born Oliseh has extensive experience in England’s tough top division.

He’s a great player and a positional replacement for Salah, but could emerge as an Ektike-style forward and eventually become Liverpool’s central frontman.

While Ekitike will spend some time in the hospital recuperating, Oliseh could take his place as Liverpool’s main attacker, not only strong in the final third but also a combative and intelligent cog in the build-up.

However, Ekitike remains a world-class player and is expected to bounce back. Hopefully, Olise can show his superstar qualities from the get-go and keep it up in the absence of Salah and the French forward to get Liverpool back to the top of the table.