Crystal Palace could sign ideal Olise replacement in 32m "1v1 specialist"
Crystal Palace could sign ideal Olise replacement in 32m "1v1 specialist"
Crystal Palace feel like they are on the precipice of something great with Oliver Glasner at the helm.
The Austrian has extracted so much more from his squad over the last few months, and with the right additions this summer, the club could take a real leap forward in the Premier League next season.
However, the incredible football the South Londoners played in the last few weeks of the season has only increased the number of outside parties looking to sign their best players, including Michale Olise, who has been heavily linked with a move to Chelsea recently.
It's an unfortunate side effect of playing great football, and while it would obviously be a setback to lose the Frenchman, it looks like Steve Parish and Co have already identified the perfect replacement.
Crystal Palace transfer news
According to a report from The Palace Way earlier this month, Crystal Palace are interested in bringing Norwegian wonderkid Antonio Nusa to England this summer.
The report revealed that the Eagles can expect to pay a fee similar to the one Brentford agreed for the youngster in January before their deal collapsed, around £32m.
It might be an expensive transfer for someone so young, but based on his performances in Belgium this season and the way he is spoken about by people in the know, Nusa looks like a player worth spending big on.
Why Nusa would be a good Olise replacement
Now, before getting into why the Club Brugge gem would be a great signing to replace Olise, there are a couple of things to mention.
The first is that while Nusa has primarily played on the left this season, he has started ten club games on the right in the last couple of years and in Glasners 3-4-2-1 system, he'd likely be asked to play one of the hybrid attacking midfield roles anyway, like the former Reading ace.
The second is that while he's an incredibly exciting prospect and a player who could turn into a real world-beater in time, he can't be expected to immediately perform in the same vein as the Frenchman.
However, comparing his underlying numbers to those of the 22-year-old when he was 19 shows just how good he already is.
For example, while the "electric" dynamo, as dubbed by data analyst Ben Mattinson, produces fewer progressive passes and has a lower passing accuracy than the Palace ace had at the same age, he produces a far higher non-penalty expected goal and assists figure, takes more shots and shots on target, receives more progressive passes, produces more shot and goal-creating actions, produces more progressive carries and completes far more successful take-ons, all per 90.
Moreover, the 4.38 successful take-ons the Langhus-born prospect completed per 90 this season is actually substantially higher than the 2.82 the Palace gem managed, lending credence to Mattinson's description of him as a "1v1 specialist."
Ultimately, while Nusa isn't the finished article today, he's shown more than enough in Belgium to suggest that he could thrive in Glasner's exciting and progressive set-up.
Therefore, if Palace do lose Olise to Chelsea in the coming weeks, they should go all out for the youngster that talent scout Jacek Kulig dubbed "the future of Norwegian football."
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