Chelsea are genuinely interested in signing Michael Olise from Crystal Palace this summer as Mauricio Pochettino aims to improve his attack.
That is according to the hugely reliable David Ornstein.
So, what is the situation involving Michael Olise and Chelsea? Let’s take a look…
What’s the story?
Well, a story from RMC Sport in France claimed that Chelsea made a £39m bid for the Crystal Palace No.7 in the last few days.
While Ornstein denied claims that an offer has been made, he did confirm that Chelsea hold a “concrete” interest in Olise, who Crystal Palace signed for just £8m from Reading in July 2021.
The Athletic’s Football Correspondent told Rio Ferdinand’s FIVE YouTube channel: “I was led to believe a bid has not come in for Michael Olise but Chelsea do have concrete interest.”
It is no surprise whatsoever to hear that Chelsea want to sign the 21-year-old.
Olise enjoyed a superb 2022/23 campaign at Crystal Palace, registering 11 assists in 37 Premier League appearances while also scoring two goals.
Only Leandro Trossard, Bukayo Saka and Kevin De Bruyne recorded more assists in the Premier League, while Olise also became the only player in Crystal Palace’s history to record more than ten assists in a single Premier League campaign.
Chelsea confident about Olise deal
If Chelsea do end up sending a bid to Crystal Palace, this deal could be quite straightforward to complete – should the offer appeal to the south Londoners.
According to 90min, Chelsea boast a strong relationship with the Olise family, and also have the winger’s younger brother Richard in their academy ranks.
That has given Chelsea plenty of confidence that a deal can be done for the France Under-21 international, who actually spent time in the academy at Cobham himself from 2009 to 2016.
Be sure to keep an eye on this situation, as Olise could be returning to Stamford Bridge this summer.