Steven Gerrard has admitted he still feels the absence of Luis D\u00edaz and believes Michael Olise would be an ideal long-term option for Liverpool\u2019s wide positions. Speaking on TNT Sports ahead of the Champions League quarterfinal first leg, Gerrard reflected on D\u00edaz\u2019s impact and the challenges facing the Reds.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t mind D\u00edaz back. I\u2019m missing him, I\u2019m missing him.\u201d The remark underlined how D\u00edaz\u2019s form has left a gap at Anfield since his departure. That sense of loss was reinforced when D\u00edaz opened the scoring in Bayern\u2019s 2\u20131 win over Real Madrid in the Champions League.<\/p>\n
D\u00edaz, now 29, has been clear about his move to Germany. \u201cDeciding to join Bayern was the right choice,\u201d he said after the team\u2019s massive Champions League victory. \u201cI\u2019m really happy and I enjoy every match. I feel great, I\u2019m in good shape, and that means I\u2019m ready to help the team.”<\/p>\n
Bayern\u2019s strong season explains D\u00edaz\u2019s contentment. They are in contention for three trophies: favourites for the DFB-Pokal, holding the advantage in their Champions League tie with Los Blancos, and sitting nine points clear at the top of the Bundesliga.<\/p>\n
Liverpool\u2019s season has unfolded differently. The Reds were unable to challenge for the Carabao Cup, were eliminated by Manchester City from the FA Cup, sit in fifth place in the Premier League, and now face Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League quarterfinals. The club said goodbye to D\u00edaz and Trent Alexander-Arnold last summer, and one year on Mohamed Salah has confirmed his impending exit after a tumultuous 2025\u201326 campaign headlined by a public falling out with manager Arne Slot and the club.<\/p>\n
Liverpool must now identify a replacement for the departing winger. Gerrard pointed to Bayern\u2019s Michael Olise \u2014 who has 46 goal contributions this season \u2014 as an outstanding candidate. \u201cAll day long. But the problem is, why would he leave Bayern? A big club challenging for the big honors and they are probably the strongest Bayern team we have seen for a while.”,<\/p>\n
Gerrard\u2019s comments framed the dilemma: Liverpool need quality on the wing, but attracting players from Europe\u2019s leading clubs presents a difficult challenge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Gerrard says he misses Luis D\u00edaz and would welcome Michael Olise as Liverpool’s replacement widely.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11167,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1062,175,1163],"tags":[195,1047],"class_list":["post-11168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bayern-munich","category-liverpool","category-transfers","tag-alexander-isak","tag-champions-league"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11168"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11168\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}