Why Olise is set for the top amid Chelsea, PSG, and Man City interest
Michael Olise is a fan favourite after just two years at Crystal Palace, while his blunt post-match interviews leave team-mates in stitches… but the winger could now follow Wilfried Zaha out the club with Chelsea, Man City and PSG interested
- Michael Olise is a fan favourite for his skills, assists, and defensive contributions
- Chelsea, Manchester City, and PSG are all keen on the Crystal Palace 21-year-old
- But he needs to add more goals to his game and overcome his current injury
Michael Olise is still an enigma. Just not enough of an enigma to stop some of the world’s grandest clubs pursuing him.
He is, with the media, taciturn. After scoring a 94th-minute winner against West Ham in November, his account was brief. ‘I think Wilf passed me the ball. Shot. Scored,’ came his analysis, which went viral. Wilfried Zaha was in stitches.
What people don’t talk about from that game is his celebration, his open-armed pose in front of West Ham’s auditorium, showmanlike, inviting acclaim from south London and splutters of anger from the east of the capital.
If he is a wallflower as some think, any trace of that reputation dissipates when his feet touch perfectly manicured grass. On a football pitch he is expressive and vibrant and plays in glorious watercolour.
It’s why Chelsea have reportedly tabled a £39million bid for the 21-year-old to try and ensnare him ahead of Manchester City and Paris Saint Germain.
Chelsea have reportedly submitted a £39m bid for Michael Olise, more than his release clause
Manchester City and PSG are also interested in the skilful winger after his 11 assists this season
His 94th-minute winner against West Ham caused hysteria among adoring Crystal Palace fans
Mauricio Pochettino is a big admirer and has already spoken with the winger to try and coax him to Stamford Bridge. Is he worth that? A quick glance at his stats on Wikipedia doesn’t offer much justification. Two goals this season, four goals last. Hardly bountiful.
But to focus on that raw number is to fundamentally misunderstand Olise’s wholeness as a player. A total of 11 assists last season had him trailing only Kevin de Bruyne, Mo Salah, and Leandro Trossard.
No other player his age in Europe’s top five leagues registered more, and it matched Saka’s haul. He struck up a delightful friendship and partnership with team-mate Eberechi Eze, providing half of the attacking midfielder’s goals.
Mauricio Pochettino is a big admirer and has already spoken with the winger to try and coax him to Stamford Bridge. With his ability to wiggle his way out of impossible situations, even a straitjacket would struggle to keep him sedated.
His eye for a pass, switch of play or cross, and, critically, his knowledge of when to release the ball for maximum effect reshapes the game in front of him, creating chances that should not exist. And then there was his stupefying free-kick against Manchester United in January, placed with molecular precision.
Little wonder his Palace team-mates voted him their player of the season. His impact, through the relegation-troubled days and the optimistic ones, was vital. Ask most Palace fans if they think he is only worth half of Cheick Doucoure’s value and you will be met with incredulity.
Through all the razzmatazz of his dribbling – which does not always pay off, by the way – there is a more humble quality which endears him to Pochettino. In true Palace spirit, he is a grafter. Among Premier League wingers last season, he ranked in high percentiles for tackles won, interceptions, blocks, and ball recoveries.
This evolution is likely explained by a shift in the Eagles’ style as they defended deeper and dug their heels in to scrap for points, with Olise drifting further back and further inside than 2021-22 if his heatmaps are to be believed.
But his post-match interview where he ‘described’ the goal was blunt, to much amusement
Olise will miss the start of the season after being injured in a collision with Kristoffer Klaesson
The young France star looked distraught as he was helped off the pitch in the U21 Euros
How he would adapt to a more expansive system long-term is up for debate, but any club will have the assurance that he is not a showboater who throws his hands in the air if he loses the ball. He grits his teeth and tries to win it back so he can have another go.
But dark clouds have gathered over a jubilant summer. A collision with Norway goalkeeper Kristoffer Klaesson during the U21s Euros left Olise with a hamstring injury and he is set to miss the start of the season.
His goal early in the game proved to be the winner for France as they advanced past the group stage with a perfect record, but his agonised expression left no questions about his devastation.
Tests have revealed he suffered a grade three tear – the most severe level possible – and will likely have to count his time on the sidelines in months rather than weeks. Moving on from this, for a player who has seldom missed a game in his career through hard knocks, will be a test of his character.
There’s also the obvious need to score more if he wants to compete at the very top level. It’s all well and good spouting arguments about his vision, but elite clubs demand contributions on both columns of the goals/assists grid.
De Bruyne, Salah, and Trossard – those who finished above him in the assists charts – bagged seven, nineteen, and eight goals respectively in the league last season. Saka claimed a healthy 14.
By contrast, Olise’s total of 13 career goals in 144 appearances, or a goal every 11 games, is not great reading.
One would hope he gets more clear scoring opportunities in a more dominant team. Over half of his efforts last campaign were outside the area, for example.
Olise has developed a thriving partnership with Eberechi Eze (right) at Crystal Palace
Roy Hodgson has been a strong figure in Olise’s development in the last few months
Compare that to the likes of Jack Grealish, who had almost 75 per cent of his chances inside the area, and higher quality ones at that, and you see how Olise would benefit from more creative surroundings.
Even Roy Hodgson admitted it after one game. ‘I think he needs to get more goals. He’s got goals in him. He cut inside on his left foot on a few occasions and got good strikes away,’ the Palace manager said.
‘But all the time he’s producing those goals for us like he’s doing, we’re more than happy with him.
‘He’s another player I see getting better in terms of doing things we want him to do.’
With a big future ahead of him, one suspects he will have to come up with a couple of other scripts for post-match interviews.
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