Chelsea in dreamland as Man Utd defy Ten Hag with Olise decision

Tom Weber

Updated: 19 Jun 2024 14:15 CDT
4 min read

Michael Olise, Man Utd, Chelsea — © IMAGO

Manchester United are not willing to trigger Michael Olise's €70 million release clause, according to a report.

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The Crystal Palace star is facing crucial days and weeks regarding his future. Chelsea, Man Utd and, as revealed by FootballTransfers, Liverpool are battling for Olise's signature and things are constantly moving behind the scenes.

Chelsea have received formal permission from Crystal Palace to speak to the player as they look for a way to acquire him, while Man Utd and Liverpool are not yet quite as advanced in their pursuit of the player.

Indeed, Man Utd have faced a major hurdle in their bid to get their hands on the 22-year-old. Only last week did they finally decide to keep Erik ten Hag on board, which at last gave everyone involved with the club some clarity regarding the future.

The drawn-out nature of the process, however, meant that Man Utd were unable to turn their interest in one of Ten Hag's top targets into a concrete approach despite the fact that Sir Jim Ratcliffe greenlit a move for Olise as one of the first orders of business when he acquired a minority stake in the club.

Chelsea in pole position

Man Utd also face the problem of yet again having to deal with a restricted budget despite Ratcliffe's investment, with some outlets going so far as to claim that the Red Devils only have about €55m-€60m to spend.

The fact that Man Utd can't splash the cash has already been evident in the way they have gone about their pursuit of Jarrad Branthwaite, trying to lowball Everton with an opening offer of around half of the Toffees' asking price.

Now, the lack of funds is also taking its toll on their Olise pursuit. At least that is according to Footmercato, which reports that the Red Devils are not willing to trigger Olise's €70m release clause.

Crystal Palace, meanwhile, insist on this figure being paid, while Chelsea have already agreed to match that fee, which means that the Blues are firmly in pole position to land Olise if they can agree personal terms and convince him of their project.

Unless Man Utd can somehow find a way to raise significant funds, Olise will not be plying his trade at Old Trafford next season.