Chelsea make verbal offer for Olise

<p>Chelsea have apparently approached Crystal Palace with a verbal offer for French winger Michael Olise.</p>, <p>The 21-year-old was a shining light in an indifferent campaign for the Eagles last term, coming up with two goals and 11 assists in 37 Premier League games.</p>, <p>Olise was subsequently chosen to represent France at the recent Under-21 European Championships, but his continental campaign was cut short by a serious hamstring injury.</p>, <p>Olise’s affliction could render him unavailable for the first few weeks of the 2023-24 season, but the former Reading attacker is nevertheless attracting glances from some of the ‘Big Six’ teams.</p>, <p>Both Chelsea and Manchester City are rumoured to be keeping a close eye on the situation, as Olise allegedly possesses a £35m release clause in his Palace contract, which runs until 2026.</p>, <p>Man City are believed to have identified the winger as an ideal successor to Riyad Mahrez, who ended a trophy-laden five-year spell at the Etihad to join Al-Ahli earlier this summer.</p>, <p>However, Chelsea are seemingly striving to secure Olise’s services for a lower fee, as RMC Sport claims that the Blues have now lodged a verbal bid of €30m (£26m).</p>, <p>The 21-year-old is thought to have reached an agreement in principle with Chelsea over personal terms, but the West London club are yet to make a formal offer.</p>, <p>The report adds that the Blues – who have been monitoring developments for a number of weeks – are waiting to receive assurances over Olise’s injury before accelerating their interest.</p>, <p>The Frenchman previously represented both Man City and Chelsea as a schoolboy, but he failed to make the grade at both clubs before joining Reading in 2016.</p>, <p>Olise quickly made his mark in Berkshire and joined Palace for a mere £8m in 2021, and he has since amassed six goals and 19 assists in 71 matches for Roy Hodgson’s men in all tournaments.</p>