Chelsea are understood to have agreed a deal in principle with Crystal Palace for Michael Olise – despite his current hamstring injury. The 21-year-old Frenchman spent seven years with the Blues before joining Manchester City’s academy in 2016 and now he could be set to seal a stunning return to west London seven years later.
Olise was one of the stars of the show at Crystal Palace last season after serving up 11 Premier League assists in 37 matches.
His red-hot form caught the attention of Chelsea and Manchester City but now the Blues are looking to proceed with a permanent deal.
Now Chelsea have moved to activate the player’s release clause which is worth in the region of £35m. Now it’s up to the clubs to iron out the finer details of the agreement including payment terms.
Personal terms have already been in place between Chelsea and Olise for around 10 days, meaning the transfer is now moving into the final stages before completion.
Olise is currently injured after suffering a grade-three hamstring tear at the U21 European Championships with France.
But he is already back out running on the grass ahead of his potential return to action in late September.
Roy Hodgson recently declared it would be “a bitter blow” if the Eagles were to lose a player of Olise’s quality after already waving goodbye to Wilfried Zaha.
The Palace manager said: “It would be a bitter blow now if we had to start the season with other of our top players being tempted away from us, or other clubs coming in and persuading Crystal Palace to sell them.
“There is no desire to sell any of those players, and we cannot avoid speculation that other clubs will be interested in players of that quality.”
Palace, who have endured a frustrating transfer window, will now also be fearful of losing Eberechi Eze before the September 1 transfer deadline with Spurs firm admirers of the 25-year-old attacker. Sources have not ruled out a surprise bid from Tottenham in the coming weeks following the sale of Harry Kane.
City had also considered a move for Olise as they continue to explore the signing of a replacement for Riyad Mahrez.
Jeremy Doku tops their shortlist while Lyon’s Bradley Barcola is also firmly admired by the Etihad Stadium recruitment team.
Chelsea are also hoping to wrap up the signing of Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia for £50m plus add-ons.
The Belgian had been the subject of an agreement between Southampton and Liverpool but much like Moises Caicedo, he opted to join the Blues instead.
Lavia is expected to complete his switch to Stamford Bridge in the next 48 hours. He will cost upwards of £50m.
Mauricio Pochettino is then expected to go after further attacking reinforcements and another goalkeeper following Kepa Arrizabalaga’s loan departure to Real Madrid.
