Steven Gerrard fears top Mohamed Salah transfer replacement not available to Liverpool

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Liverpool will need to find a replacement for Mohamed Salah in the summer transfer window, but Steven Gerrard has cast doubt on a player tipped to be the Reds' top target

Steven Gerrard put doubt on Liverpool's potential top target to replace Mohamed Salah(Image: TNT Sports)

Steven Gerrard cast doubt on whether Liverpool would be able to sign Michael Olise, who has been tipped as the ideal replacement for Mohamed Salah.

Liverpool will be bidding farewell to Salah this summer after nine years at Anfield, with the Egyptian this week making the surprise announcement that he is leaving the club.

Having reached an agreement the Reds, the 33-year-old will depart on a free transfer after the final year of his contract was waived. Liverpool will therefore likely spend the summer looking at potential replacements, with a number of big names having already been touted.

Bayern Munich star Olise is among those to have been tipped for a move to Anfield, and the former Palace star’s name was brought up as Gerrard discussed possible options with former England teammate Owen Hargreaves for TNT Sports.

“Liverpool will probably look for more one v one merchants who can go on the outside,” said Gerrard. “At times this season, certainly when they had that spell when they were quite inconsistent, they were too predictable on the sides.

“And the way this manager [Arne Slot] wants to play is work it side to side to set the one v ones up. They have missed [Luis] Diaz a lot. I would say we need to address the sides of the pitch.”

Michael Olise has been tipped to be Liverpool's top target to replace Mohamed Salah(Image: 2025 Getty Images)

Hargreaves then chipped in, saying: “If you’re Liverpool, you’ve got to go ready, tried and tested. For me, that would be [Michael] Olise, somebody of that caliber,” Hargreaves said.

Gerrard though threw that suggestion into immediate doubt, responding: “Would they get him though? Would he be available?”

Hargreaves replied: “Probably not. But the thing is, if you don’t ask, you don’t get, and I wouldn’t want to see him leave Bayern because that front three is amazing.

“But if you’re talking Olise on that right-hand side for Liverpool, that’s box office.”

Hargreaves would go on to also suggest Paris Saint-Germain’s Bradley Barcola and RB Leipzig’s Yan Diomande as potential options for Liverpool, with the former Manchester United midfielder saying the latter “leaves people for dead.”

Gerrard would also throw two West Ham players into the mix, suggesting both Crysencio Summerville and Jarrod Bowen - although he isn’t convinced on the latter.

“I like Summerville," Gerrard said. "He is brilliant in one v ones, he looks hungry. In a team that has struggled he has been a shining light and got better as the season has gone on.

“I really like Bowen and think he is a top player but I am not sure he is Salah’s level to replace him.”