Man Utd attempt spectacular Michael Olise hijack

Tom Weber

Updated: 1 Jul 2024 12:53 CDT
3 min read

Manchester United are one of several clubs trying to pounce on the delay in Michael Olise's Bayern Munich transfer, according to German media.

Article continues under the video

The Crystal Palace star will be on the move this summer. The Premier League's most in-demand player, Olise has made his decision after months of speculation involving Chelsea and Man Utd.

The Frenchman was Man Utd's top offensive target, while Chelsea had been on hot on his trail for a year. Neither, however, was prepared to pay the 22-year-old's hefty €60 million to €70m release clause and the sizeable wages the player was demanding.

Ultimately, then, Olise shocked everybody by deciding to pick Bayern Munich as his next club. After learning the winger's decision, the Bavarians quickly moved to ostensibly close the deal. Crystal Palace and the Bundesliga giants appeared to have all but agreed on the transfer, but the move has now hit a stumbling block.

Man Utd trying to hijack Olise

According to Sky Germany's Florian Plettenberg, there has been a delay in Olise's move to Bayern, which was originally supposed to have long been finalised at this point.

Olise was scheduled to fly to Munich for his medical last week, but nothing materialised. Now, the new plan is for the 22-year-old to do all the necessary tests at some point this week, with Bayern scrambling to close the deal at last.

Plettenberg claims that 'many clubs are trying to hijack the transfer, including Manchester United.' Despite this, the journalist insists that Olise's move to Bayern is not (yet) in jeopardy, with the player remaining keen on the switch.

It is intriguing that the news of Man Utd's hijack attempt surfaces at a time when they are trying to strike a deal with Bayern for Matthijs de Ligt. Perhaps their renewed courtship of the Palace star is to put pressure on the Bavarians because it seems unlikely that they would have the funds to sign Olise.