Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City are interested in signing Crystal Palace midfielder Michael Olise, according to a report by 90Min.
Palace had paid £8.37 million to sign him from Reading back in the summer of 2021 and in these two seasons, the right-sided winger has played in 71 games for the club. Last campaign, he featured in 37 Premier League games and he provided as many as 11 assists along with two goals.
The 21-year-old is shaping up to be a top player so it’s no surprise that some of the best clubs in England are interested in signing the France U-21 international.
Man City, Arsenal and Chelsea have all expressed an interest in signing the winger but it won’t be an easy task to land him because his contract expires in 2026 and it has a £35 million release clause in it. This fee won’t be a problem for either of the three teams but it remains to be seen if Crystal Palace will be ready to sell him this summer.
Man City are losing Riyad Mahrez to the Saudi Pro League which is why they are looking at Michael Olise as a potential replacement and if they come calling then the 21-year-old could be tempted to play for the reigning English and European champions.
Michael’s younger brother, Richard Olise is currently playing at Chelsea so the Blues will also hope that his young brother can help to bring in the winger. Arsenal are perhaps the least favourite amongst the lot because Bukayo Saka operates on the right-hand side for the Gunners and there’s no way Mikel Arteta will push someone like Saka on the bench for Olise. Last season, the 21-year-old played in 37 league matches so the last thing he will want is to play second-fiddle to someone next campaign.
UPDATE:
According to RMC Sport, Chelsea have reached an agreement in principle to sign Michael Olise and they have tabled a £39 million for the midfielder. If this news is true then the Blues are currently in pole position to land the midfielder but only if the Eagles agree to this transfer fee.
However, this is just the first step in a long process because Palace are yet to accept a fee and because Michael Olise still has three more years left on his contract, we don’t think Roy Hodgson’s team will agree to sell him for just £39 million. Also, Manchester City are yet to make any sort of concrete move for the midfielder and if they do then the whole scenario will change within a matter of days.
At the Etihad, Olise will be able to play for the reigning European Champions whereas Chelsea will not even be in Europe next campaign.
Chelsea are making progress because they are the first to make any sort of formal contact but we are sure the likes of Man City and Arsenal will jump in sign Michael Olise very soon.
