Chelsea are reportedly set to step up their pursuit of highly-rated Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise, who is also a target for Manchester City.
The Blues see Olise as an alternative to Mohammed Kudus, who is close to joining Brighton and Hove Albion.
The Seagulls have allegedly reached an ‘agreement in principle’ with Ajax to sign the Ghana international for a fee of £34.5m – a new club-record fee. They are yet to agree on personal terms with Kudus, though.
Chelsea have switched their attention to Olise. Reports suggest they have already made a £25m ‘verbal offer’ for him.
This offer was quickly rejected by Crystal Palace. Olise has a release clause of £35m, so Chelsea will have to match that fee if they want to sign the attacker.
As previously reported by Football365, Man City are also interested in the 21-year-old as a potential replacement for Riyad Mahrez, so we could potentially see a battle between the two Premier League giants for the attacker.
Olise spent time at both Chelsea and Man City as a youth before moving to Reading to make his senior breakthrough.
The attacker left Reading for Crystal Palace in 2021. He has since made 71 appearances across all competitions, scoring six goals and making 19 assists in the process.
A versatile player, Olise has the ability to play as a winger on either flank or as an attacking midfielder, so could provide cover in several positions for Chelsea or Man City.
The Frenchman has already shown he has the quality to play in the Premier League and has the potential to get even better, so he could prove to be an excellent long-term investment for one of the two rivals.
Crystal Palace are aware of the interest in Olise and as per TEAMtalk, have offered him a huge pay rise in an attempt to keep him at the club. As it stands, however, the bumper deal remains unsigned.
Now, according to Football Insider, Chelsea are ‘ready’ to ‘step up’ their interest in Olise after missing out on signing Kudus.
The report notes Olise is happy at Selhurst Park and wants to play consistent first-team football. He could be convinced to leave by Mauricio Pochettino, however.
With that in mind, it will be interesting to see if either Chelsea or Man City meet Olise’s £35m release clause in the next couple of weeks.
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