Michael Olise deals Chelsea blow as Crystal Palace star opts for European giants
Crystal Palace star Michael Olise has dealt a huge blow to Chelsea having decided to join Bayern Munich this summer.
Chelsea were given permission by Palace to speak to the 22-year-old before deciding they were unable to meet the financial terms of the deal.
Vincent Kompany lures Olise
Newcastle also approached Palace and both Manchester United and Manchester City have been credited with interest in the Frenchman, who got 10 goals and six assists in 19 appearances in 2023/2024 with much of his campaign disrupted by injury.
Olise was close to joining Chelsea last summer before opting to stay at Selhurst Park, signing a new four-year deal which looks set to earn Palace a significant transfer fee from Bayern.
The Athletic has revealed that the Bundesliga giants – now managed by Vincent Kompany – contacted Palace and are now expected to agree a deal with the Premier League side, while personal terms aren’t expected to be a problem as Olise has his heart set on the move.
Olise isn’t playing for France at Euro 2024, meaning the deal may be completed imminently, but was recently named in the France Under-23 preliminary squad for this summer’s Olympic Games by head coach Thierry Henry.
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Nico Williams instead?
Bayern snapping up Olise will mean Chelsea will have to look elsewhere to sign a new winger this summer, and Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams has been on their radar for some time.
The 21-year-old, who helped to end Bilbao’s 40-year trophy drought as they won the Copa del Rey last season and is now starring for Spain at Euro 2024, is thought to have a £47m release clause in his contract that will currently be tempting Chelsea and a number of other interested parties.
But Bilbao president Jon Uriarte insists the young star is “happy in Bilbao”.
“We have impressive talent in the squad,” Uriarte said. “When things are like this, it’s normal that there are players who arouse interest, but we’re not here to talk about rumours.
“Nico is happy in Bilbao and at Athletic and we’re very happy with Nico. We don’t worry about or pay attention to rumours. We’re focused on creating an attractive project for all our players, fighting for titles and competing in Europe.”