Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise is going to be one of the hottest commodities of all this summer transfer window, and he’s on the radar of Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool; among others. He has a £100,000-a-week salary, with four years left on his current deal, so that release clause is going to be a hefty sum.
Reportedly, the bidding starts at about £60 million, which is a 50% markup from last summer, when Chelsea were ready to pay a fee of close to £40 million.
For today’s Chelsea News and Notes go here
For part two of today’s transfer talk go here.
With Kylian Mbappe already long signed, sealed and delivered to Real Madrid, Olise will be one of the biggest names to move this summer. And the Mbappe deal was already known since February, so does that even count as a summer transfer saga?
Getting back to Olise, United are said to be leading the way in the race to sign him, no doubt due to the influence of former Palace defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
The embattled right back could be headed back to Selhurst Park and is thought to potentially be part of the deal, if this does indeed come to pass.
If not Olise, then Ivan Toney could be a high priced forward that the club signs this summer. Then again this is Chelsea, they could sign both, and actually much more this window. Toney, 28, returned in January from his eight month ban for breaching the league’s gambling rules.
Brentford kept him around in January, but they might want to sell this summer, or risk losing him for nothing next summer.
The English scoring sensation is out of contract at the end of next season. He’s in high demand too, as he’s been linked with both Arsenal and Chelsea for some time.
Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United are said to be interested as well.
The bidding is supposed to start at around £80 million, but of course, the more interested parties, the higher the potential hammer price.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.