It is three years ago now that Liverpool youngster Harvey Elliott shone during a loan stint in the Championship with Blackburn. The teenager scored seven times and, more impressively still, set up 11 for Tony Mowbray's side, despite only being 17 at the time.

He performed so well, in fact, that by the time he returned to Liverpool for pre-season the following summer, he was part of Jürgen Klopp's first-team plans. Since then, he has been a regular at Anfield aside from the period in which he was missing with a serious injury.

Somehow, though, Elliott wasn't the most impressive teenage talent in that second tier at the same time. Instead, that honor fell to Reading's Michael Olise, who matched his counterpart's goal tally but managed one more assist, and was ultimately named the Championship's Young Player of the Season.

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Olise, who also made that season's PFA Team of the Year, attracted interest from Liverpool and a host of other top European clubs like Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Napoli and Monaco (according to TeamTalk). In the end, though, the Frenchman would sign for Crystal Palace instead, and he's looked like a mighty coup for the Eagles ever since.

Olise had been in good form recently and has proven himself capable of regularly setting up and scoring goals. Having not long turned 22, he has plenty of room left to improve but enough Premier League experience to be ready for a step up. He's earned himself seven caps for France under-21s and looks a safe bet to figure for the senior side in the not-too-distant future after establishing himself as one of the top young talents in England.

Indeed, Olise was named the Player's Player of the Season at Selhurst Park last year, and that's absolutely no surprise when you read glowing verdicts like this from teammate Joel Ward. "Michael's a special talent," he said, via Football.London. "The world's his oyster and he's just getting better and better from game to game, so I think he's going to go onto new heights and set the bar.

"If he continues that way, he's going to go on to special things. They [Olise and teammate Eberechi Eze] certainly make my life a little bit easier when I can just give them the ball, and they go and do their magic!"

Olise has been so impressive that Chelsea and Manchester City both shortlisted him as a transfer target last summer, spotting the opportunity for a huge bargain in light of the player's release clause (via Fabrizio Romano). French outlet RMC Sport claimed that Chelsea even made an offer worth more than that — $50m (£39m/€45m) — in a potential attempt to edge Manchester City.

Olise, though, chose to stay and sign a new contract, delaying an exit. A move somewhere bigger, though, is inevitable. And according to ESPN, Manchester United is leading the race to sign Olise this year. Though his exact release clause isn't known yet, the report says, it is said to be substantially larger than the $44m (£35m/€41m) that it was last year. The Daily Mirror has previously claimed that the player has a release clause worth around $76m (£60m/€70m) that comes into effect in the summer.

Is there a case for Liverpool re-entering the race given the new circumstances? Well, it's worth stressing that Olise would represent a very different kind of winger to Mohamed Salah. Yes, he's a one-versus-one threat like the Egyptian, placing 10th in the league for successful take-ons last season (54), but he's better described as a wide creator than a wide scorer.

That's reflected in his tally of 242 attempted crosses in 2022/23, only beaten by Trent Alexander-Arnold (252) and Newcastle United's Kieran Trippier (195). Olise would be labeled a long-term successor to Salah if he did arrive, and it's a move that would see Liverpool evolve, shifting the goalscoring burden away from the winger and onto a handily supplied number nine like Darwin Núñez.

With Arne Slot coming into Liverpool with his love of wingers well known, there is a case for the Reds to add another forward to their roster. And if they do, with three or four players comfortable playing off the left, perhaps it makes sense to target another left-footer who can play from the right. Olise could be the ideal option.

An original version of this story was first published on July 25. It has since been updated.