According to reports from Italy, Liverpool are prepared to spend big in order to beat Manchester City to a mutual transfer target.
The print edition of Gazzetta dello Sport claimed (via Paisley Gates) that the Reds are willing to push the boat out in order to ‘get ahead’ of their Premier League rivals in the chase for Michael Olise.
The report stated that Anfield chiefs are ready to part with a fee in the region of €60m-€70m (£52m-£60m) to sign the Crystal Palace attacker this month, with Football Insider recently citing Pep Guardiola’s side and Chelsea as fellow interested parties.
Olise has been in excellent form for Palace of late, with four goals and an assists over his last four Premier League games (Transfermarkt), while he was lauded by Eagles teammate Eberechi Eze as an ‘incredible’ player (The Athletic).
His tremendous displays on the right flank at Selhurst Park have seemingly made him a candidate to provide a dependable alternative to Mo Salah in that position at Liverpool, and possibly to become the Egyptian’s long-term successor in the team.
However, whether the Reds would move for the 22-year-old this month is open to question, with journalist Jacque Talbot indicating on Monday that the Frenchman ‘would be a permanent move in the next transfer window’, when a release clause will be activated.
Summerville or Olise would not be a short-term loan signing for Liverpool, if that wasn't clear. Either would be a permanent move in the next transfer window. Olise will have a release clause then, Summerville won't/doesn't have one anymore.
— Jacque Talbot (@jac_talbot) January 8, 2024
Luis Diaz’s tremendous performance when switched to the right in Liverpool’s 2-0 win at Arsenal yesterday suggests that he could do a job in that role while the Reds’ number 11 is away at the Africa Cup of Nations, perhaps diluting some of the urgency around pursuing Olise.
The timing of any potential move for the Palace winger is a topic for debate, but what seems much clearer is that he’s a man in form and in demand, hence why Anfield chiefs are reportedly willing to splash the cash in order to beat Man City to the punch.
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