Chelsea favourites for potential £60m transfer as clubs given permission to speak to player

Chelsea reportedly look the favourites for the potential transfer of Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise this summer, with the club giving permission for other teams to speak to the player.

That’s according to Matt Law as he spoke to the London Is Blue podcast, with the Telegraph journalist providing some insight into the Olise situation.

The French winger shone for Palace last season and looks like he could be a superb addition to this Chelsea side, giving the Blues a much-needed upgrade on inconsistent attacking players like Raheem Sterling, Mykhailo Mudryk and Noni Madueke.

Olise has perhaps understandably also been linked with other top clubs in recent months, and Law admits that there also seems to be some interest from Bayern Munich and Newcastle United, though Chelsea seem to be confident they’re in pole position.

Olise transfer: Chelsea favourites but release clause looks complicated

Law has explained that Chelsea and Palace sources are saying slightly different things about Olise’s release clause, with mixed messages out there about if it applies only to Champions League clubs.

Chelsea seem to think it doesn’t apply to Champions League clubs, so they’ll no doubt hope they can see off big-name suitors like Bayern for this exciting young talent.

Olise could do well to wait for other teams to make him an offer as he’s surely good enough to be playing in the Champions League and competing for the biggest trophies, which isn’t guaranteed any time soon at Stamford Bridge.

Speaking to CaughtOffside for his Daily Briefing column earlier today, Fabrizio Romano made it clear that Olise was a priority for Chelsea, even if they’re also working on strikers.

Romano said: “Chelsea’s top target remains Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise as they try to agree personal terms with the player before then finding a solution with the club on his clause. The priority for now is the player side, so they are working to make it happen, but another top target for the club this summer is a central striker.

“Chelsea have two options after missing out on Benjamin Sesko, who was a top target for them but also for Arsenal and Manchester United before deciding to stay at RB Leipzig. Let’s see if other names come into the equation for Chelsea, but for now the two targets are Jhon Duran of Aston Villa and Samu Omorodion from Atletico Madrid.”