Chelsea have reportedly ‘agreed personal terms’ with Crystal Palace star and top Manchester United target Michael Olise, while the Blues ‘consider the sale’ of a fellow forward.
Olise has caught the attention of near enough all the Big Clubs in the Premier League, with United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe setting his sights on the Frenchman as one of his first signings at Old Trafford, Liverpool keen on him as a long-term replacement for Mohamed Salah and Pep Guardiola thought to be a big admirer.
The 22-year-old nearly moved to Stamford Bridge last summer as Chelsea thought they had activated his £35m release clause, only to be told by Palace that Olise himself had to activate it.
As per the conditions of the release clause, Palace would have needed to agree a fee with Olise in order to sell him – with £35m the minimum – and he would have passed that information on to Chelsea to see whether or not they were willing to pay it.
Olise ended up signing a new four-year deal at Selhurst Park, with Palace said to be furious with Chelsea’s conduct in negotiations.
Chelsea ‘speaking to Palace’ about release clause payments
His new release clause is thought to be £60m, which may well be a stretch for the Blues given their PSR concerns, but GIVEMESPORT claim they have now ‘agreed personal terms’ with the winger.
The report claims Chelsea are now ‘speaking to Palace regarding the scheduling of payments for his release clause as they push ahead to secure his signature’.
The deal is far from done and other interested parties could yet beat Chelsea to the punch if they put an offer on the table, but this represents a ‘big step forward’ for the Blues in their bid to land Olise.
Nkunku replacement?
He could be a replacement of sorts for Christopher Nkunku, who arrived at Chelsea last summer but played just 514 minutes in an injury-ravaged debut season in west London.
The 26-year-old – whom Chelsea paid RB Leipzig £52m for – is attracting interest from Saudi Arabia, and while reports claim Chelsea want to keep Nkunku in the hope he can ‘become a key player’ under Enzo Maresca, ‘if a huge offer arrives they will consider a sale’.
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