Man Utd face 20% price hike on transfer targets as winger dealt ‘devastating’ blow

Robin Bairner

• 9 Feb 2024 13:10 GMT
• 2 min read

Manchester United face the prospect of having to pay an increased transfer fee for Crystal Palace pair Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise in the summer after the pair’s value shot up over January.

Man Utd have been associated with moves for both Eze and Olise in recent weeks, with the duo both linked with the Old Trafford side during the January transfer window.

No deal was done but as Sir Jim Ratcliffe gets his feet under the table at the club as his takeover is finalised, it is expected that this pair is among the players who the Red Devils will pursue in the summer.

Eze and Olise were both among the players whose transfer values received the biggest jumps last month, albeit the central midfielder narrowly missed out on the top 10.

France U21 international winger Olise saw his Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) climb €7.2 million to €35m while Eze’s price increased to €44.3m – up €6.8m over the previous month.

The value of the pair has, therefore, increased 20% over the month of January alone.

United will likely have to pay substantially more in order to sign these players, with Palace determined not to allow their prized assets to leave.

Olise, for example, is valued by the London club at an estimated €58.5m while Eze was quoted to them at €90m during the January transfer window – nearly twice as much as his ETV.

Olise suffers injury setback

One of the factors keeping Olise’s price relatively low is a small number of matches caused by persistent injury problems.

The winger has suffered another setback in this regards, with his hamstring set to keep him on the sidelines for another period of time.

Speaking on Thursday, Roy Hodgson confirmed: “It's devastating for him, for the club, for everybody really. I don't think he was carrying an injury, I think it was more fatigue.

“It's not easy when you've got a player like Olise on the bench to turn around and say 'just sit there'. Michael is a quiet guy and that's another part of this situation.

“Another player might have come up and said: 'Look, I don't think it's worth it. I need a bit more time.' But that's not fair on him, he's just going along with what the club thinks.”