With rumours indicating that Michael Olise would be “open” to such a move, Manchester United’s pursuit of the winger has gained momentum.
United are well-known fans of Olise, who is having a fantastic season at Crystal Palace in spite of missing a significant amount of time due to injuries. The 22-year-old is a top priority for Sir Jim Ratcliffe this summer as the Ineos chairman looks to establish himself at the team during his first transfer window as a co-owner.
While Olise is being considered by other elite teams, like Chelsea and Liverpool, Football Transfers claims that the Palace player would love to join United. After Mauricio Pochettino’s team activated his £35 million release clause in the summer, he turned down a transfer to Stamford Bridge and agreed to a new four-year contract with his present team.
In that agreement, a release clause was also added. According to the article, this clause will become effective in the summer and may now cost prospective suitors £60 million. It will ultimately be up to the player whether multiple clubs exercise that option, therefore United may consider themselves the front-runners to make a move.
Despite missing 21 of Palace’s 32 games in all competitions, Olise is one of the team’s most dangerous players with six goals and three assists. The combined goal outputs of Antony, Jadon Sancho, Facundo Pellistri, and Anthony Martial are equal to that of the French under-21 international.
The right flank will be a focus area to bolster this summer following the underwhelming performance of the present talent pool. With Sancho and Pellistri out on loan and unlikely to factor into Erik ten Hag’s long-term plans, Antony is now the only realistic alternative. However, he has only scored one goal this season, which came in the FA Cup victory over League Two team Newport County.
Marcus Edwards of Sporting CP is also mentioned in the report as a possible backup should United decide against making a bid for Olise. The 25-year-old has drawn attention from manager Ruben Amorim and is valued at approximately £35 million, therefore his price is anticipated to be much lower.
