Chelsea are closing in on the signing of Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise – a player who has some high-profile admirers.
The Blues have activated Olise’s £35million release clause and are pushing hard to add him to Mauricio Pochettino’s ever-expanding squad. Chelsea have also agreed a fee of £53m, plus £5m in add-ons, to sign Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia, and are assembling a group of talented young players for Pochettino to work with.
Olise impressed by chipping in with 11 assists in the Premier League for Palace last season and was also of interest to Manchester City. But he now looks likely to re-join the club he was released from as a youngster, provided he passes a medical and Palace’s reported unhappiness with Chelsea’s approach doesn’t scupper their plans.
The 21-year-old is currently out of action with a hamstring injury picked up at the European Under-21 Championships, where he was playing for France. He is expected to be out until the end of the September, so will not be an option for Pochettino straight away.
When he does recover, Chelsea will have an entertaining player full of potential on their hands. After moving to Palace in an £8m move from Reading in July 2021, Olise contributed 19 assists and six goals in 71 games, with his left foot a particular weapon cutting inside from the right wing.
His performance in a narrow 1-0 defeat by eventual champions Manchester City in March caught the eye of Pep Guardiola. After a late Erling Haaland penalty sealed three points, Guardiola paid tribute to Olise and his team-mates Wilfried Zaha and Eberechi Eze.
“They have weapons,” he told Sky Sports. “Zaha is there, Olise, Eze, they are incredible strikers and they have incredible threat. They have composure. Great attacking players.”
