Crystal Palace may spend half of Olise's release clause on 11-goal winger
Crystal Palace may spend half of Olise’s release clause on 11-goal winger
Crystal Palace have identified a potential new addition this summer in the shape of a goalscoring winger, as Oliver Glasner looks to continue his revolution at Selhurst Park.
Olise’s future in doubt
One of the biggest question marks for the South London outfit surrounds the future of Michael Olise. The talented winger has suffered another injury-studded campaign this season, but remains a highly-sought after talent across the Premier League and Europe.
Chelsea thought that they had bagged a bargain last summer when they triggered his £35m release clause, only for Olise to opt to stay put and pen a new deal at Selhurst Park, which has reportedly seen that clause jump to £60m.
That is not thought to be a major obstacle though, and all of Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United are thought to be interested in signing him this summer, with United in particular having made him a primary target.
It remains to be seen whether or not he will leave this summer, with reports claiming that he is keen to play Champions League football if he were to leave South London ahead of the new season.
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He will add plenty of versatility to Glasner’s squad.
He is not the only player who may depart though, with teammate Eberechi Eze also in high demand across the Premier League, amid interest from Tottenham and Manchester City, though Palace have attempted to ward that off by slapping a £60m price tag on his head too.
Now, it appears Palace are already making plans for new life in attack, and are closely monitoring another young gem.
Palace watching Serie A star
That comes as Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport [via Sport Witness] claim that Glasner’s side are one of several Premier League clubs keeping tabs on young winger Matias Soulé. The 21-year-old Argentine is contracted to Juventus, but has spent the season out on loan with Frosinone, where he has managed to grab 11 goals and 3 assists in 33 Serie A outings.
But he will not be returning to Juventus, the report claims, with the Old Lady looking to cash in on his good form in order to fund their own transfer business. As a result, they ‘expect to receive offers’ of around 30m-35m euros for his services (£26m-£30m), while Palace and Brentford are named as the two clubs most keen on striking a deal.
And in what could perhaps be a boost for both, Soule has already admitted his dream to play in England’s top flight: “If they give me the choice of a league, I would go to England. Everyone knows that it’s one of the best leagues, it would be a dream to play there. I would also like to be able to stay at Juventus.”
The fee represents just about half of what Palace would receive should Olise depart the club this summer, and would allow them plenty of flexibility to strengthen elsewhere ahead of the new season. But they will have to fight off rival Premier League interest should they decide Soule is their man.