Michael Olise’s Summer Saga
Michael Olise has been a wanted man this summer, with both Manchester City and Chelsea tracking the Crystal Palace winger in the hopes of adding him to their ranks. Olise, who spent time at both clubs during his youth, must have been attracted by the potential of joining one of the top clubs in England and could have been forgiven for having his head turned.
Chelsea’s Transfer Moves
With City seemingly pursuing other options recently, it left Chelsea as the club who would potentially swoop in and nab the former Reading man and indeed The Athletic reported in recent days that a move to Stamford Bridge was a likelihood after Chelsea triggered a buyout clause in Olise’s contract.
Chelsea have had a busy few days, eventually managing to get Moises Caicedo signed and sealed after Liverpool disrupted that deal and forced Todd Boehly to part with far more money than he wanted to in order to secure the Ecuadorian midfielder.
The Blues’ Spending Spree
The next move on the board for Chelsea was buying Romeo Lavia from Southampton, another move that saw them pay well over the odds as Liverpool drove the price up, but the Blues have seemingly emerged victorious and we should see them confirm that transfer in the coming days.
These were meant to be two of three transfers that would take the Blues sailing toward the BILLION-pound mark of transfer spending since the arrival of Boehly and his cohorts last summer. Inclusive of loan fees and easy-to-hit add-ons, Chelsea would have stood at roughly £950mil in transfer spend in fifteen months after the arrival of Lavia. These staggering sums have left them still without a first-choice goalkeeper or a reliable goalscorer.
Chelsea’s Hidden Expenditure
As an aside, when agent fees, signing bonuses, and payments made to both hire and fire managers are accounted for the true figure of Chelsea’s expenditure is likely to be well past the £1.2billion mark after Lavia arrives.
The Olise Controversy
They were set to close in further towards the billion-pound mark of transfers spend with the arrival of Olise for a reported £35mil. The player had allegedly agreed personal terms and the deal seemed a formality until reports broke that Palace were considering taking Chelsea to a tribunal, believing that they had tampered with Olise and spoken to him without permission.
Publicly Chelsea pled innocence, but privately they appear to have backed off the deal. Olise likely could have forced the issue and perhaps Chelsea would have stumped up more cash to make it work.
Olise’s Wise Decision
But Michael Olise is no ordinary football. A very bright, thoughtful young man who prioritises his career and his progression, Olise has chosen not to push for a transfer. Instead, he has signed a new four-year contract to stay at Selhurst Park.
Olise may well have looked at Chelsea and realised that in lieu of anything resembling a real plan, they are merely stockpiling players. And in the right-wing position he thrives in, they have signed Raheem Sterling, Noni Madueke, and Angelo Gabriel in the past 15 months, as well as adding Christopher Nkunku and Mykailo Mudryk who can also play in that position.
The decision by Olise to turn down the opportunity to join the Circus and instead stay at a club where he is assured of more regular starts is a smart one. He will likely get his dream move to one of Europe’s top clubs next season, as his new deal includes a raised buy-out clause, but staying at Palace for now is undoubtedly the right move.
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