Why Chelsea and Man City want Michael Olise following release clause revelation

 

Fabrizio Romano's release clause revelation on Sunday night caused quite the stir on Twitter. The transfer guru tweeted that Crystal Palace star Michael Olise is currently available for as little as £35m. The Eagles, having failed to renegotiate Wilfried Zaha's, the Ivorian opting to move to Turkish powerhouse Galatasaray instead, will have been left ruing the admission. 

 

Olise really established himself as a first team regular for the south London side last term following a solid, if unspectacular, debut campaign at Selhurst Park. Only Eberechi Eze (7.02) earned a better WhoScored rating than the Frenchman (6.99) for Palace in 2022/23 with the 21-year-old really showcasing his talent once Roy Hodgson succeeded Patrick Vieira in the capital. 

 

Palace of course, will be reluctant to lose one of their star players. No player aged 21 and under registered more assists than Olise (11) in Europe's top five leagues last season, that return level with Arsenal hero Bukayo Saka. With the rumoured release clause, that could prove quite the steal in the current market, so it's no wonder Chelsea and Manchester City have been credited with an interest in the attacker. 

 

 

Chelsea perhaps have less of a need to bring in a midfielder of Olise's skillset, the Blues already well stocked with wingers and still needing to trim a bloated squad, but the Frenchman's ability to play both out wide and through the middle makes him an appealing target. The departures of both Kai Havertz and Mason Mount means Chelsea, in theory at least, need a player who can cover both roles, and Olise has proven he can do so excellently. 

 

Manchester City do need a player who can play out on the right flank, however. Riyad Mahrez's summer exit leaves a void out wide that Olise could well fill, and do so superbly. To succeed in Pep Guardiola's side, though, Olise would perhaps need to improve his distribution. A pass success rate of 78.4% falls well below the standards set by the Spaniard, who demands his team control matches. 

 

That being said, City (65.2%) averaged almost 20% more possession than Palace (45.8%) so when put into wider context, Olise's ball retention is of a decent standard, which would appeal to Guardiola. What the City boss will like is Olise's eye for a defence splitting pass to go with an ability to retain the ball. A return of 72 key passes ranked eighth in England's top tier last term, at a rate of 2.4 per 90, which matched Mahrez. 

 

As a potential replacement for the Algerian, Olise would be a fine option for City, but at such an affordable price, the Premier League and European champions will face competition for the youngster's services. Chelsea's priorities may lie elsewhere, particularly in that they need to bring in a holding midfielder to work alongside Enzo Fernandez, with Moises Caicedo the number one target, but when a player of Olise's talent comes on the market, it's an opportunity the west London side simply can't pass up. 

 

They would in the process replace both Havertz and Mount for a fraction of the funds raised by their respective sales to Arsenal and Manchester United, with a player whose ceiling is arguably higher than the pair. When taking into further consideration that Havertz (38) and Mount (30) ranked first and third, respectively, for chances created of all Chelsea players in the Premier League last season, they need to add creative bodies in the final third. 

 

Christopher Nkunku's capture from RB Leipzig will ease these concerns, but that's plenty of pressure on the Frenchman to immediately transition from the Bundesliga to the Premier League. Chelsea don't have the best recent track record when it comes to adding players from Germany's top tier, as noted by the signings of Timo Werner and Havertz, so Olise's addition, a player with two years Premier League under his belt, would lessen the need for Nkunku to hit the ground running. 

 

Chelsea are also tracking other targets in their quest to add further attacking bodies, with Elye Wahi and Mohammed Kudus both recently linked with a summer move to Stamford Bridge, so they aren't putting all of their eggs in one basket. With City supposedly sniffing around Olise, too, this is vital. 

 

Either way if reports of such a clause are correct, then interest from the champions and a side vying to re-establish themselves as one of the best in England isn't a surprise. Olise shone for a Palace side that flattered to deceive in the final third - they scored just 40 league goals last season - and he could prove one of the signings of the season if either City or Chelsea can get this one over the line.

Why Chelsea and Man City want Michael Olise following release clause revelation