Revealed: Chelsea HAVEN'T moved for Olise for THIS reason

Cameron Smith

• 28 Jul 2023 15:15 BST
• 2 min read

Mauricio Pochettino and Chelsea remain cautious about moving heavily for Crystal Palace star Michael Olise despite reports that a first offer has been tabled.

Olise, 21, has attracted interest from Chelsea and Manchester City this summer, but he remains under contract at Selhurst Park until 2026.

French outlet RMC Sport have reported that the Blues have submitted a £39 million offer for Olise, with the player said to be 'seduced by the project' that is currently underway at Stamford Bridge.

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Pochettino has introduced a high-paced, attacking style of football since joining the club, while Chelsea have focused their recruitment on younger stars, while ageing players have been phased out.

That is shown by the fact that Ben Chilwell, 26, is the third-oldest outfield player in Chelsea’s pre-season squad.

According to The Daily Mail, Olise has a £35m release clause at Crystal Palace, but the west London club have offered a larger fee in order to split the payments across multiple windows, rather than pay a large lump sum. It’s a tactic they have done with both Nicolas Jackson and Enzo Fernandez recently.

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Chelsea cautious with Olise

Despite several reports suggesting otherwise, on his ‘Here We Go’ podcast, Fabrizio Romano has reported that Chelsea have not yet submitted a bid for Olise and are instead waiting to analyse Olise’s injury before fully pushing to sign him.

Olise suffered a hamstring tear while participating at the U21 European Championships with France, and he’s expected to miss the start of the Premier League season.

As a result, Chelsea are wary of signing him before they are aware of the full extent of the injury. The Blues have already signed three left-footed right wingers in the past six months - Angelo Gabriel, Diego Moreira and Noni Madueke - while Kendry Paez, another, will join when he turns 18 in 2025.