Despite a seemingly unlimited supply of top young attackers on the books at Chelsea, reports suggest they will join Liverpool and Man City in pursuit of one of the world’s best.
Chelsea’s attacking play has struggled in the absence of Cole Palmer, evident once again in Tuesday’s narrow win over Benfica.
It’s surprising in a way, given the investment made into the forward areas this summer. But players like Jamie Gittens and Alejandro Garnacho are still getting used to life at Stamford Bridge, and Joao Pedro has been forced to lead the line rather than dropping in to create.
The season is young, and creativity levels will rise as players settle in more, but that prospect isn’t preventing Chelsea from looking to next summer and the potential additions that they can make yet again.
Chelsea interested in Michael Olise again
Michael Olise is one of the brightest young talents in Europe, full stop.
Before he moved to Bayern, Chelsea were very close to reaching an agreement with the player they released at the Under-14 level.
The £50 million fee Bayern paid for Olise now looks an absolute steal, as he has taken his game to new heights in Germany. But Chelsea, along with two other Premier League giants, think bringing him back to England is a real possibility.
As SportBild reports: “The battle for Olise is on – the Premier League’s top clubs want to bring the Bayern Munich player back to England.”
Naturally, Olise’s value will have climbed a bit after a phenomenal debut season with the German champions, but that won’t deter his suitors: “Olise’s current market value is €100 million (£87m). A sum that not only Chelsea and City, but especially Liverpool FC, are keen to spend on the winger next summer.”
All three can and would fork out that kind of money for a player who has already proven himself in the Premier League.
Bayern Munich want to extend Olise
The Frenchman’s current contract runs until 2029, meaning Bayern aren’t under pressure to sell.
Sporting director Max Eberl has made it clear he wants Olise around for the long term, and is willing to offer him more money to extend his deal.
But we have seen that players are having more and more influence on their futures, despite contractual obligations. If Olise makes it clear that he doesn’t want to extend, Bayern could come to the conclusion that selling him at peak value is the right move.
Liverpool obviously look to Olise as a Mohammed Salah replacement, while City will see him as the ideal player to pair with Erling Haaland. We’ve seen how well he plays with Harry Kane.
Chelsea, on the other hand, already have so many players for those roles, with Geovany Quenda to be added to the list next summer. But they want Olise, and it’s understandable. He is pure footballing joy.
If the links persist, it won’t take long for Chelsea’s current wide options to realise they are fighting to not be replaced in the summer.
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