- Fight to retain Olise amid Chelsea, City interest
- City eye Olise as Mahrez's replacement
- Palace seeks reinforcements after Zaha's departure
WHAT HAPPENED? Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson revealed the club is concerned over holding onto Olise as both Chelsea and Manchester City express keen interest in the talented winger. The potential departure of Riyad Mahrez from Manchester City to Al-Ahli has opened up a vacancy in Pep Guardiola's squad, making Olise an attractive target for the reigning Premier League champions.
The French U21 international has a release clause of £35 million in his current contract with Crystal Palace. Chelsea has been a long-term admirer of Olise since he departed their youth team at the age of 14. With both clubs vying for his signature, Palace faces a challenging task in retaining the highly promising winger.
WHAT THEY SAID: Speaking to London News Online, Hodgson said: "We have a fight on our hands to make sure he stays with us. We had two outstanding wingers who were almost the best in the league – Michael Olise on the right side and Wilf on the left. We don’t have Wilf anymore – clubs are circling around Olise.
"We’ve lost five senior players from last season and brought one in – Jefferson Lerma. He’s good and we’re happy to have him in – but there is still that hole of five senior players in the squad, two of whom were two of the real stars of the team. There’s a bit of work for the chairman and sporting director to do between now and the end of August, because the team we put out today was in our opinion, at this moment in time, our best team, but we don’t have the strength behind that team that we had last year."
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Former star Wilfried Zaha left the club as a free agent this summer after his contract with Crystal Palace expired on July 1. He had refused to sign a new deal worth £200,000-per-week.
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WHAT NEXT? The interest in Olise is a testament to his impressive performances at Crystal Palace last season where he recorded 11 assists and two goals, earning him the Players' Player of the Year award. Both Chelsea and Manchester City view him as a valuable addition to their squads and are willing to compete for his signature.