Palace’s Michael Olise is ready to take the next step in his career amidst Chelsea links
News broke over the weekend revealing that Chelsea are pursuing a deal for Palace's exciting winger Olise.
Multiple reports have said that the Blues have even tabled an opening bid of £39m including add-ons. Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano - who did an exclusive interview with us at Flashcore last month - is one of those confirming the interest, and also revealed Manchester City are tracking the Palace attacker.
Olise's current contract is due to expire in 12 months and he has so far refused to sign a new one, despite a new lucrative extension being offered by the South London club earlier this year. Palace then may be forced to cash in or risk losing him for nothing, although the decision could be taken out of their hands with a reported release clause of £35m in his current deal.
He was a key player for the Eagles last season and his form across the campaign looks to have signalled to the Premier League’s top clubs that he’s ready to take the next step in his development.
Last season, he scored twice while registering an impressive 11 league assists. No player across Europe’s top five leagues aged 21 or under managed more. But that only scratches the surface in terms of accentuating Olise’s enormous quality.
As a profile, Olise is extremely versatile. He’s most often featured out on the wing, however, his extensive ability means he can play anywhere across an attack and thrive.
Last season, the France Under-21 international illustrated that he can do just about everything, with a swagger, too. He’s extremely skilful, able to chop from one direction to the other effortlessly, and boasts wicked pace to go with it.
No Palace player could better his 111 combined progressive carries last season, while only teammate Jordan Ayew (149) attempted more dribbles - 141. He also topped the rankings for the South London club in terms of making the highest number of key passes (72) and accumulating the highest Expected Assist (xA) total (8.7).
Those numbers are boosted by his threat from dead-ball situations. Despite playing in a squad littered with extremely talented experienced players, Olise was entrusted to be his team's chief set-piece taker, and it paid off.
Combining it with his open-play threat means he finished first across the squad for generating the highest number of shot-creating actions (143) - Eberechi Eze ranked second but was some way off with a total of 118.
A big factor in Olise’s ability to be so influential ties in with how he’s able to seemingly always find space even in the most congested areas. Whether that be drifting into central areas in between an opponent's defence and midfield, or pushing high and wide, he's always ready to receive a pass and then look to cause chaos on the final third.
This will be one of his most appealing traits for the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City who dominate possession in most matches they play. At Palace, only Marc Guehi and Joachim Andersen - both defenders - received more passes last season.
What’ll also appeal to both clubs is his high work rate off the ball. Of all the Palace attackers last season, he ranked first for successful defensive actions per 90 (7.52).
“Both defending and attacking; we see what a wonderful player he is,” said manager Roy Hodgson on Olise back in April after one of his many standout displays against Leeds United, and the aforementioned underlying numbers back the 75-year-old’s comments up emphatically.
Yet despite all of this, there is a potential stumbling block on a deal for either Chelsea or Manchester City. Olise’s European Championships this summer was cut short after suffering a grade three hamstring tear during France’s win 1-0 win against Norway - a game in which he netted the winner.
He’s almost certain to miss the start of the new Premier League season, and could even miss several months, depending on the severity of the injury. Both Chelsea and Manchester City are said to be awaiting further clarification on the matter before stepping up the intensity of their interest.
If it’s severe, both may opt to wait 12 months before fighting it out to seal his signature as a free agent next season. However, if the injury isn’t as bad as feared, then bringing him in for this up-and-coming season would, understandably, be tantalising for both.
