Michael Olise…. Cherishing Enough at Crystal Palace and Ignoring More from Chelsea

New Chelsea owner Ted Boehly had been relishing how convenient it was for him to conceitedly waltz through mid-table premier league clubs, splash largesse around and lure their young talented football sensations away to his newly revamped blue army Chelsea squad, — a move that made he and his London football club bask in several euphorias up till it encountered a somewhat odd and abrupt stopover.

In usual fashion, Ted Boehly and Chelsea would dump brick-sized piles of money on the table and whisk away their desired player, but upon arrival at Selhurst Park to woo Michael Olise, a player whom they saw dear to their heart and a sight for sore eyes on the field of play, their flamboyant methods surprisingly received an ultimate snub.

Prior to this, Chelsea had received news of a £35m release clause in Michael Olise’s previous contract with Crystal Palace and saw this as a “business as usual” opening, and without hesitation went on to activate it, meanwhile the French U21 international at the time was busy recovering from an injury sustained over the summer.

In that burst of excitement, smiling from ear to ear, rubbing hands together and having a feeling of great expectation, the American oligarch and his London team believed they had scored their man only to receive a blunt “No” as the winger shockingly snubbed Chelsea and decided to commit his future to Crystal Palace with the signing of a new four-year contract, leaving Chelsea’s interest to wallow alone in despair— such a sucker punch right in their face.

During the 2022-23 Premier League campaign, 21-year old Olise registered 11 assists and scored twice for the Eagles and his departure would have been a big blow on the Selhurst Park club having just lost Wilfried Zaha to Galatasaray on a free transfer— Palace couldn’t afford losing another key player and had to just hold on to their key attacking talent.

Michael Olise in Crystal Palace: Official CPFC

Chairman and owner of Crystal Palace Steve Parish having confirmed Olise’s new deal reiterated that the club gave Michael Olise space to decide his future and he chose to remain with the Eagles despite links with a move to a prestigious club as Chelsea.

Speaking exclusively to Sky Sports News, Parish expressed how “absolutely delighted” he was at Olise’s renewal, adding: “It puts to bed a lot of speculation and lifts everybody.

“With Wilfried [Zaha] going, it would have been a blow to lose Michael. We’re now going into the season with pretty much the team we ended last season with. We’ll try to do one or two more things next week but this makes us all feel a bit better.

Michael’s got his own mind and people have got to make decisions about their own life. We have given him the room to do that and the fans will love him all the more for making that decision.

“I think Michael will go right to the very top of the game but right now, for his development, this is a good decision.”

Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson spoke of his delight at Michael Olise’s new contract with the club which did put an end to the speculation surrounding his future after Chelsea showed interest in the player. While speaking on the issue he said: “It’s the best possible news we could have. The decision has been his.

“We’ve been concerned, as one is concerned when a club of Chelsea’s stature start to take an interest in a player and suggest that a move to them might be the best bet.

I’ve always hoped that wouldn’t be the case and that Michael would realise that, at such a young age, his future here is very bright. We can help him move very quickly to another level.

“I had a long chat with him when the subject was first broached but that was in pre-season. I suggested that being at Crystal Palace would be the best option but I also made it clear I wouldn’t put him under unnecessary pressure.

“I congratulate Steve Parish and [sporting director] Dougie Freedman on a fantastic job.”

Truth be told, this whole news did come as a blow for Chelsea, who had in the same period agreed high-profile deals for Brighton’s Moises Caicedo and Southampton’s Romeo Lavia for a combined £173m.

Both players had the option to join Liverpool after the Reds agreed deals with their previous clubs, but opted to join Chelsea instead.

Which now begs the question, why did Olise turn down Chelsea?

Chelsea had done everything right and according to the books. They did meet the release clause in Michael Olise’s contract worth £35m – which was enough to have allowed them to talk to Olise, but that being the case neither Olise or Palace responded after Chelsea’s offer had gone in. Olise now goes on and signs a new four-year deal with Crystal

Palace. So what made Olise turn down Chelsea?

If we look at it on face value, Olise feels more at home at Crystal Palace and sees his future and development best served at Selhurst Park. According to sources Chelsea never withdrew their offer at any point in time which clearly indicates that Olise signed a new deal because he preferred to remain at Palace.

After four goals and nine assists in 31 games in his first season as a Palace footballer, 2022/23 saw Olise go from strength to strength in a red and blue shirt.

No Under-21s player in Europe’s top five leagues provided more assists last season than Olise’s total of 11, and this season you sure can can bet that he will add to that with Palace when he recovers from his currently sustained long-term injury with France Under-21s in the summer of 2023.

Asides the fact that Olise’s new contract is a four-year deal, other details of the contract are yet to be made public, for now there isn’t any confirmation as to whether there is a new release clause – or indeed if there is a release clause in it at all.