Michael Olise has left - what does this mean for Palace?
The worst truly has come to pass for Crystal Palace. Michael Olise’s time in South London is at its end, as he flies off to Bayern Munich to prove himself at the highest level under Vincent Kompany’s tutelage.
This move has understandably caused much upset and frustration amongst the fanbase, who were hoping to keep the young Frenchman for one more season. However, it’s not all bad news for Palace – positives can and will come out of Olise’s exit.
The most obvious downside is that Michael Olise will not be seen in a Palace shirt again. Arguably the most talented player to have ever played for the club, any team would struggle to replace his quality.
Whether under Patrick Vieira, Roy Hodgson, or Oliver Glasner, the young Frenchman showed his ability to impact games from a variety of attacking positions. His consistency was frightening. At just 22 years of age, it will be nigh impossible to replace Olise’s output for as cheap a price as he was signed for.
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The low transfer fee will also hurt Palace fans. Rumoured to be around £50m due to his release clause, Olise’s signing represents a bargain for Bayern Munich.
Given the state of the market, there is disappointment to have not recuperated a more substantial sum. This will only be exacerbated by looking at the sales Brighton have made – Moises Caicedo, for example, departed for over £100m. Whilst they play in different positions, Olise was no doubt as sought after as the Ecuadorian
However, there is a flip side to this. Palace have used release clause mechanisms to their advantage on numerous occasions. They managed to tie Olise down to an extra year last summer by way of this now much-maligned release clause.
It also must not be forgotten that the player made his way to Palace in 2021 as a result of an £8m clause being triggered by the Eagles. Complex contract stipulations are a part of the player power movement that now dominates modern football. Clubs of Palace’s stature are powerless but to acquiesce if they want to attract top talent.
Olise has left to play Champions League football with one of the world’s biggest clubs. Should he have left for a club like Manchester United or Chelsea, who both held strong interest, one could easily conclude Olise was not convinced by the Palace project. This was not the case.
Ultimately, Bayern’s offer was something that could not be matched by Palace - an opportunity to showcase your talent on the biggest stage of all.
We should consider ourselves incredibly fortunate to have had this fantastic entertainer willingly don the Red and Blue stripes. He chose Palace as the place to further his development after leaving Reading, and then chose us again when he denied Chelsea last summer. The fact he would do that speaks volumes about the club, and its ability to enhance the careers of young talented players.
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Crystal Palace made Olise world-class, and he trusted them to do so. This becomes incredibly important when the topic of Palace’s future transfer activity is broached.
With the current transfer model, Palace are looking to sign and develop young players who could be sold for a high profit, to then reinvest. Olise is the blueprint of this pathway – signed for cheap, made into a star, then sold on for big money. And, most importantly, any future young players can map this path for themselves.
Palace have the pull to sign players like Adam Wharton, because they can see how Palace can act as a springboard for young talent. The club’s young summer targets, notably Jobe Bellingham, Antonio Nusa, and Matias Soulé, will all be aware of this pathway.
Finally, the influx of cash from Olise’s sale is a benefit to the club. Whilst arguably not enough, £50m is still Palace’s second largest sale in history. Considering that Freedman scouted and signed Marc Guéhi, Joachim Andersen, and Olise for that money, it is clear that the club is more than capable of strong reinvestment.
This allows Palace to sign a direct replacement for Olise, potentially sign a younger understudy for depth, and then even help contribute to more depth across the squad.
Many names are currently being considered by the club. Matías Soulé and Antionio Nusa are potemtial direct replacements, with recent arrival Daichi Kamada already softening the blow of Olise's departure.
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There is no doubt that this £50m will be used well, finding players that represent good value, as well as being suited to Glasner’s style of play. As well as this, it will help balance the books in the wake of FFP and Profit and Sustainability rules, which have cast an ominous shadow over football clubs in recent times.
By helping Palace stay above water, and then contributing towards signing future talent recruitment, the fee fetched for Olise will have a lasting impact in South London.
Thumbnail Credit: F. Noever/FC Bayern/Getty Images
Tom Reynolds
WRITER
Tom is a linguistics student from Wiltshire, and has followed Palace since he was eleven. In between matchdays, he can be found swearing at Football Manager, missing his lectures, and terrorising his friends with an array of poorly constructed puns. Tom brings with him a decade-long love for Crystal Palace, and a sense of humour picked up from watching too many comedy clips instead of working.
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