Chelsea moves before Man City to table a £39m bid Michael Olise
Chelsea moves before Man City to table a £39m bid Michael Olise
Chelsea have reportedly made a £39m pound offer to sign Crystal Palace star Michael Olise.
According to RMC Sport in Olise's native France, the Blues have tabled an initial offer for the 21-year-old who has reportedly been 'seduced by the project' at Stamford Bridge.
Olise has a £35m buyout clause in his Selhurst Park contract.
Mauricio Pochettino's side have offered figures in excess of release clauses before - as they did with Villarreal to sign Nicolas Jackson - in a bid to secure a more favourable payment plan.
The Argentine manager is a big admirer of the young winger and has already spoken to him, with Olise having reportedly agreed to join Chelsea if a deal can be reached.
Palace, meanwhile, are trying to convince him to stay and Pochettino's side will likely need to trigger that buyout clause as Roy Hodgson's side are reluctant to entertain negotiations to sell him.
Their offer that sits above his buyout clause may help them pip Manchester City in the race to sign him, with Pep Guardiola also eyeing up a move for the Crystal Palace prospect.
Olise's contract is due to expire in 2026, with the Frenchman having spent two years at the South London outfit following his £8m transfer from Reading.
He has attracted attention from clubs around the Premier League and in Europe, with PSG being another club who have expressed their interest to sign him.
Earlier this year, Palace also offered the in-demand star a new contract, in an attempt to keep him at the club.
Olise enjoyed a stand-out season with the Eagles, featuring 37 times in the Premier League while returning two goals and 11 assists.
He was also an integral part of France U21's European Championship side but suffered a grade three hamstring tear during their 0-1 win against Norway and is now set to miss the start of the new season.
The news comes as Palace could also be set to lose their leading goal scorer Wilfried Zaha, who is in talks to pen an £8m-a-year contract with Galatasaray and could leave the Eagles on a free transfer.
