Exclusive: Chelsea still confident of Michael Olise transfer with crafty Crystal Palace plan blown apart

Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise, Chelsea badge

Chelsea retain confidence they can still finalise the £58m signing of Michael Olise this summer, with Crystal Palace attempts to tie the winger down to a new deal likely to fall on deaf ears, sources have told TEAMtalk.

The Palace winger finds himself one of the most in-demand players in the Premier League this summer after underlining his brilliance for the Eagles over the course of the 2023/24 campaign, which ultimately saw Crystal Palace finish 10th. That form saw Olise finish the season with a hugely-impressive 10 goals and six assists from just 19 Premier League appearances – a goal contribition every 79.8 minutes he appeared on the field.

As a result, the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Newcastle have all been linked with moves to bring in Olise this summer – with their prospects all aided by a tempting £60m exit clause in the winger’s contract at Selhurst Park.

However, Oliver Glasner’s side do not want to sell, especially after TEAMtalk’s revelation that the Eagles fear the departure of up to FOUR of their star turns this summer.

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In an effort to keep Olise out of Chelsea’s grasp, sources close to the player’s camp have confirmed that Palace have now offered the 22-year-old a bumper new deal at Selhurst Park.

His current arrangement runs to 2027 and the Eagles hope to extend that by a further year, as well as offering the player a significant pay-hike worth £100,000 a week – easily the most lucrative deal in their history and topping the £85,000 a week earned by Wilf Zaha prior to his exit on a free to Galatasaray.

Chelsea transfers: Michael Olise deal remains on course for Boehly

Significantly, TEAMtalk has learned that Palace want to increase Olise’s exit clause to £100m in an effort to protect their valuation of him, but also leaving open the door for a future move.

That tactic of offering Olise a new deal paid dividends for Crystal Palace last summer when they successfully managed to convince him to sign a new deal, raising his exit clause at the time from £40m to what we understand to be £58m.

Chelsea instead went on to sign Cole Palmer from Manchester City for a similar fee instead; a move that paid rich dividends for both the Blues and the player himself.

However, while his agent will give Palace the courtesy of holding talks over the prospective new deal in the next few days, we understand that Chelsea still remain confident they can push through his signing this summer.

And while Manchester United continue to sniff around and hope to beat Chelsea to his signature – their new minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe is a huge fan of the player and has identified him as a key summer target – it is Todd Boehly and Chelsea, who remains favourite to pull off the move.

Olise has told Chelsea he is happy with the proposals they have put forward and has duly given his verbal approval to the terms on offer.

He is still open to listening to offers from rival suitors, but the plans in place from the Blues are attractive to one of the most coveted players in the Premier League right now.

Chelsea confident of beating Man Utd to Olise deal

Chelsea’s confidence is also growing due to the fact a number of sources do not believe that  United can afford to match the release clause and the likelihood is that it will be a final fee above the £58m price point.

The Blues board and sporting directors also have extensive experience in pulling off these types of deals and they hope to strike a similar arrangement that landed them Enzo Fernandez – who joined from Benfica for a £107m in early 2023.

In other words, Chelsea are willing to fork out the full fee Palace crave, but would pay in instalments rather than up front and in full. The bid may also contain add-ons.

An additional lure for Olise is that his younger brother, Richard, is also on Chelsea’s books, with the 19-year-old – a right-back – contracted to Stamford Bridge until summer 2025, with the option of an extra year.

The chance to potentially play in the same side as his younger sibling is also a tempting one, albeit not a deciding factor, for the Eagles man, who will look to reach a decision on his future potentially before the end of the month.