Issue with liner

My chlorine float got stuck behind the jets in the stairs and caused this:

https://imgur.com/a/jPRKbQk

https://i.imgur.com/VQmpMnH.jpg

The liner here is brittle, especially at the edge of the wrinkles and I've had to patch a bunch of 6 leaks over the past summer. I bought a 1' x 4' piece of liner to patch it, but I'm unconvinced (based on the smaller patches that I've done) that it's possible to get a good seal around a patch that's the size of the entire step.

Has anyone run into this before? Thoughts on how to fix it? The liner is only 5 years old, so I definitely don't want to replace it. Can steps like this be retrofitted?

http://illbedead.com/inground-pool-steps-replacement/ If so, would that even be cheaper than a new liner?

Thanks,
Chris

The process shown could work . . . IF the contractor you hire has the skills needed. But, many do not.

If you hire a contractor who has never done this before, you are electing to become their "guinea pig" or 'practice pool' or 'alpha tester'. Do NOT do this, unless you can afford to pay the first contractor for a repair that fails, and the SECOND contractor, to redo your pool.

Or course, if you can find a contractor with DEMONSTRATED PAST SUCCESS at such a repair, that's another matter altogether.

But in most areas of the country, you'd be better off just doing a liner replacement.