Chelsea are bullish when it comes to assessing their chances of landing prime transfer target Michael Olise and in the battle with Manchester United for the Crystal Palace winger’s signature, TEAMtalk can exclusively confirm.
Olise is one of the most wanted players in world football as the transfer window approaches this summer. However, despite all the interest his destination is set to be one of two places.
Manchester United and Chelsea have both shown strong interest and been in constant contact with the Palace star. United have led the chase and are confident they will land the man they want to be the face of their rebuild.
However, sources have stated there is cause for confidence in Chelsea and they believe they have just as much chance of landing his signature as their Premier League rivals.
This is due to several factors that are in the Blues’ favour. Firstly is their location, being in London is something that could sway in their favour with sources suggesting that the playmaker is happy in the capital and has made strong connections in the city.
He’s not alone in that as the vast majority of players who play for London sides are able to live a lifestyle that suits the high-earning Premier League footballer.
He also has strong relationships with some of the existing squad at Chelsea and has been spoken to by a number of the players in the current crop. They hope to convince him to reject United and chose them over the Red Devils.
Another point is family ties, as his younger brother playing for Chelsea. He recently signed a new long term deal and some sources are saying he is strong leverage for any deal.
It will be a battle that will go on late into the window as both sides hope to sell and conclude other deals first. It will likely be a saga that will require patience from fans.
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Crystal Palace set their fee as Chelsea interest ramps up
TEAMtalk understands that Palace expect the bidding to start at around £60m for Olise, who was close to joining Chelsea for a fee of nearer £40m just last summer.
Chelsea have seen their summer transfer business significantly complicated by their need to free up funds for transfers and lowering their wage bill.
Todd Boehly might have been willing to offer Raheem Sterling in a swap deal for Olise to kill two birds with one stone but a complicated deal might not be to the liking of Crystal Palace.
Both the clubs leading the race to sign Olise have concerns over their managerial direction which could encourage Olise to be circumspect about a big money move.
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