Michael Olise humbled Man Utd – £60m already looks a bargain
Michael Olise will be a target for several Premier League behemoths this summer - Getty Images/Justin Setterfield
Inspiration can sometimes be found in unusual places and, for Michael Olise and Oliver Glasner, it was a conversation in the showers of Craven Cottage that led to Crystal Palace’s fourth goal in their humiliation of Manchester United on Monday night.
Olise had already scored once on the night, and had already embarrassed United’s crumbling defence, when the ball came his way on the edge of the box after 66 minutes. His subsequent strike was frightening in its ferocity, and the direction of the shot – inside Andre Onana’s near post – proved that he is as good a listener as he is a footballer.
It was after Palace’s 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage last month that Glasner, their manager, approached Olise with some advice on goalscoring.
“We spoke when he was under the shower,” Glasner revealed. “He was a little bit disappointed because he had three or four shots and the shots were blocked or he hit straight at the keeper. Very often he shoots for the far post.
“I said: ‘maybe try near post and maybe the goalkeepers are surprised,’ and in this situation [against United] he shot for near post and scored. This started after the shower at Craven Cottage.”
How do we know Olise was thinking of his Glasner’s advice when he pulled the trigger? Because he turned to the dugout immediately after scoring, running towards his coach and then embracing him on the touchline.
Palace supporters will no doubt hope this is just the start of a long and successful relationship between Glasner and arguably the club’s most talented player. Sadly for them, though, such an outcome appears unlikely. Olise is destined for bigger things and a bigger club, and is expected to leave Palace in the upcoming transfer window.
United are admirers and their interest in Olise will no doubt have been strengthened by the events of Monday night, when the 22-year-old danced around the pitch with all the confidence and swagger of a man who knew he was, along with the similarly brilliant Eberechi Eze, the best footballer on the field.
But United are far from alone in liking what they see, and it could be argued that a fully fit Olise would strengthen any of the top sides in the Premier League. At Liverpool, for example, there is uncertainty over the future of Mohamed Salah. At Manchester City, there remains a Riyad Mahrez-sized gap in the squad. At Arsenal, there is a need for another winger with style and class.
Palace expect the bidding to start at around £60 million for Olise, who was close to joining Chelsea for around half that fee last summer. It is a large price tag but one that feels increasingly easy to justify every time he steps onto the turf: in his last 13 starts in the Premier League, he has scored nine goals and registered four assists.
Olise, who joined Palace from Reading for around £8 million in the summer of 2021, is one of those rare talents who can destroy a defence in a number of ways. Get too close, and he will dribble past you. Stand off him, and his delivery from the flank will be devilishly accurate. He can stay wide, running at the full-back like a traditional winger, or drift inside to become a makeshift No 10.
“You want to play with players like this,” said Eze of Olise. “The quality he has got is incredible.”
Another indication of Olise’s class is that there is a marked difference between Palace’s results when he is available and when he is not. This season, Palace have won 42 per cent of the games Olise has started. Without him in the starting lineup, they have won just 25 per cent of their games. Of the last six matches Olise has been fit enough to start, Palace have won five.
The issue – and the potential concern for interested clubs – is that he has not been available as often as Palace would like, with injury issues limiting him to just eight appearances so far in 2024. He made 37 league appearances last season, though, so can hardly be described as injury-prone.
Olise evidently has the technical and physical skills required to play at the highest level, and there have been signs that he also possesses the right character. He is a man of few words but he is certainly not short of personality: a few years ago, in an FA Cup match at Millwall, he responded to the home fans throwing bottles at him by producing a beckoning gesture, as if to ask for more. There is fearlessness in his blood and talent in his feet. Olise looks ready for the next step.
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