Liverpool Plotting Olise Swoop as Salah Exit Looms; Szoboszlai Eyes Madrid Move

Liverpool are gearing up for a mammoth financial push to land Bayern Munich's Michael Olise should Mohamed Salah depart Anfield this summer, as tensions between the Egyptian winger and manager Arne Slot continue to cast doubt over the star's future.

The relationship between Salah and Slot deteriorated significantly following December's 3-3 stalemate against Leeds United, with the 33-year-old accusing the club of making him a scapegoat for their struggles and claiming he'd lost faith in the manager. The situation escalated when the board and Slot jointly decided to exclude Salah from the squad travelling to face Inter Milan, though peace eventually prevailed and he returned for a 2-0 victory over Brighton nine days later.

Despite receiving a warm reception from the Kop after that Brighton triumph, the writing appears to be on the wall. Reports from December suggested both parties have agreed to park their differences until the campaign's conclusion, with a summer switch to Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Ittihad widely expected.

Salah has underwhelmed this term, contributing just six goals and seven assists across 26 outings in all competitions—a far cry from his usual standards. That's prompted Liverpool to identify his successor, with Spanish outlet Fichajes reporting that Bayern's Olise represents their preferred target.

The 24-year-old winger has been prolific for the Bavarians, notching 13 goals and 20 assists in 33 appearances across all competitions. Liverpool's strategy involves both convincing Olise that Anfield represents the ideal next chapter and tabling an offer so substantial that Bayern find it impossible to reject.

The club are prepared to smash the British transfer record, with a reported €200m (£174m) bid mooted—a figure that would rank as the second-largest transfer fee in football history. According to reports, only an offer of that magnitude would bring the German champions to the negotiating table, given their reluctance to part with one of their most influential operators.

Elsewhere, Liverpool face a separate battle to retain midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai, with Real Madrid's perennial charm proving difficult to resist. Mick Brown, former Manchester United chief scout, believes the Hungary international would be susceptible to Los Blancos' advances should they come calling.

"Any player will be tempted to join Real Madrid, that's the way things are," Brown told Football Insider. "We see it all the time from Real Madrid—they're linked with a player, and all of a sudden their superstars start speaking about them publicly and speculation ramps up. It's the way they do things; they want to unsettle players and then it makes it easier to buy them."

Brown acknowledged Szoboszlai's contentment at Liverpool and praised his contributions this season, but warned that Madrid's interest inevitably carries weight. "If he's presented with the opportunity to go there, it wouldn't surprise me at all," he added. "Liverpool obviously will want to keep hold of him—he's been excellent so far this season and he's a big part of their side—but it's difficult when Madrid come calling, as they know."