24th May 2024 • Written by Haris Armstrong

Michael Olise is the best winger in the Premier League - and it isn’t a debate

Crystal Palace’s end to the season has been exceptional. With six wins from their final seven matches, they have finished the campaign in their richest vein of form since promotion 11 years ago. The football is exciting and new manager Oliver Glasner has quickly implemented a style of football that is proving extremely difficult to stop. 

It is of little surprise that this remarkable upturn in form coincided with the return of Michael Olise to first team action. The Frenchman has been scintillating since his reintegration at Anfield in a 1-0 Palace win and in partnership with teammate and close friend Eberechi Eze, he has turned an often impotent Palace side into an attacking force able to create chances at will. 

Palace knew who they were signing

Michael Olise’s journey to becoming a Premier League footballer is not too dissimilar from that of many others. Let go by Chelsea at the age of 14, he had to take what many refer to as the ‘backdoor route’. He had to endure stints out of academy football, developing on his own and waiting for opportunities. 

Olise’s natural ability and innate talent has never been lost on the fans that follow him and the people that know him. Sean Conlon, who coached Olise at youth level through his company ‘We Make Footballers’ could spot the potential immediately: 

“...from the age of nine, Michael has always been the best player for his age in the country” he told The Guardian’s Ed Aarons in 2022. “He’s always been very elegant and graceful in the way that he moves”, Conlon added.

Olise was destined to reach the top of the game from a very early age. 

Image via cpfc.co.uk

After a short spell training with Manchester City, Eventually the opportunity came and he was signed by Reading - a club that envisaged his eventual integration into the first-team setup. 

 In 2019, at the age of just 17, he was handed his first-team debut by then Reading manager Jose Gomes and by the age of 19 he had collected the EFL Young Player of the Year Award.

It was his standout performances in this campaign (2020/2021) that made Palace act on their long-standing admiration. His tally of seven goals and twelve assists in 44 Championship appearances was impressive and helped Reading to a 7th placed finish. Olise, who was named in the Championship Team of the Year, was attracting interest from a host of Premier League clubs and with a release clause of just £8 million, Dougie Freedman and Palace took the plunge. 

In just three years at Palace, the rate of the 22 year-old’s development has been alarming. The talent was obvious from the moment he made his debut against Tottenham in September 2021. He was elegant, graceful and had a decision making ability that well exceeded his age.

However, there was always a feeling that there was much more to come in terms of attacking output. Consistency needed to improve.

In the following campaign (2022/2023), Olise registered 11 Premier League assists, a stat only bettered by Kevin De Bruyne, Mohamed Salah and Leandro Trossard. His tally of two goals, whilst underwhelming, has to be viewed in the context of what was a fragmented and frustrating season. 

Credit: Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA/Getty Images

Palace’s poor form after the disruptive mid-season World Cup break, caused Vieira to gradually adopt a more conservative in-game approach. Olise’s minutes on the Pitch suffered as a result, and he struggled to generate momentum and produce the performances he was capable of.

In fact, six of Olise’s 11 assists came after the reappointing of Roy Hodgson as manager in March 2023. The attacking licence given to him by Hodgson not only helped to turn Palace’s season around, but it allowed Olise to focus on doing what he was best at; creating chances and terrorising defences. If the entire season had been played in this manner, his output would have been significantly higher. 

What makes Olise so special? - it's not just the numbers

This season, despite being hampered by two long-term hamstring injuries, Olise has hit new attacking heights. In 19 appearances (14 starts), he has registered a staggering 16 goal contributions (ten goals and six assists). Extrapolating this data over the course of a 38 game season, and Olise would be on track to notch over 30 goal contributions. 

Statistics aside, it is the manner in which Olise is performing that is so noteworthy. In Glasner’s 3-4-3 system, Olise - alongside Eze - is deployed as dual number 10 with licence to roam behind frontman Jean-Phillipe Mateta. This enables him to pick up the ball in the half-space between the opposition's midfield and defence, turn and run at the back-line. 

This was perfectly exemplified by his first goal in Palace’s 4-0 drubbing of Manchester United. The 22-year-old picked the ball up in the centre of the pitch, turned and drove at an albeit poor United defence. Skipping past a weak Casemiro challenge, he arrived at the edge of the box and calmly slotted into the bottom corner. He was direct and ruthless, a skill essential for copious talent to result in high attacking output. Olise does not get sidetracked by his ability and he does not over complicate situations - he is efficient. 

The free role given to him and Eze allows for constant link-up between the pair. When the duo are in sync and the interplay works, they are verging on unstoppable. In Palace’s last seven matches they have racked up 22 goals and assists between them.

Credit: Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images

Olise is also incredibly productive from wide areas. He is not only able to deliver crosses that are consistently accurate but he provides a significant goal scoring threat when cutting inside on his left foot. Three times this season, he has found the net with a trademark curling finish from the edge of the area. The most notable of these came in November at Kenilworth Road when Olise carried the ball from the halfway line and fired beyond a despairing Thomas Kaminski - a goal not befitting of the disappointing away defeat. 

As well as Glasner’s style, the arrival of Adam Wharton from Blackburn in January has also helped Olise. The 20-year-old midfielder has hit the ground running in the Premier League and possesses the ability to pass between the lines accurately and at pace. He is progressive and constantly looks to play forwards. Olise has been one of the main beneficiaries of this - especially when operating centrally behind the opposition’s midfield. 

This exact combination should have resulted in an Olise opener at Craven Cottage at the end of April, and worked to perfection in the build-up to Palace’s second goal against Aston Villa on the final day.

The latter of these two examples epitomises exactly what Glasner is asking of Olise. Finding space in front of the Villa defence, he was able to receive Wharton’s incisive pass on the half-turn. Olise, now facing the Villa back-line, neatly played the ball into the path of an onrushing Daniel Munoz who squared the ball for Jean-Phillipe Mateta to turn home.

Whether operating as a more conventional winger or in this hybrid number 10 role, Olise’s ability to affect the game remains high. He is profoundly versatile. 

Credit: Rob Newell/CameraSport/Getty Images

Efficiency, versatility and consistency are undoubtedly qualities that help separate talented players from those destined for the very top. But, Olise has more than just this. He is mercurial. 

Palace have scored an array of high quality goals this season. The five minute Goal of the Season compilation video compiled for the End of Season Awards night was littered with stunning strikes from across the club.  So much so, that not all of Michael Olise’s standout moments could be included. 

From his strike against Luton, his acrobatic finish against Brentford to his stunning curling half-volley against Sheffield United, Olise provides fans with moments that few others can. He is a joy to watch.  

It is not as if the Palace faithful have been starved of supremely talented individuals in recent years. Club icon Wilfried Zaha is widely heralded as the greatest player in Crystal Palace history. For over ten years he tormented defences and, at times, single handedly carried the club’s on-pitch hopes. The fact that Olise is held in such high regard by Palace fans in the aftermath of Zaha’s exit, speaks to his exceptional ability and frightening potential. 

“Michael is peak” were the words of Eze when watching back Olise’s goal against Sheffield United with former club presenter Chris Grierson. A colloquial acknowledgment of his friend’s nonchalant manner when producing moments of supreme quality. 

How does he compare to the Premier League's best?

Having only featured 19 times this season, Olise’s numbers are impressive. He averages 1.06 non-penalty goals and assists per 90 minutes, which surpasses that of any other Premier League winger. He at 0.68 is bettered only by Leandro Trossard (0.69) when it comes to non-penalty goals per 90.

If his current rate of scoring and assisting was extrapolated over the course of a 38 game season, he would finish with 25 goals and 15 assists. These figures would have been enough for Olise to win the Golden Boot in four of the past five seasons, and claim the most assists in three of the last five. 

Michael Olise wins Goal of the Year at the 2024 London Football Awards

Of course goals and assists do not always increase in a linear manner, but these projections provide useful context when comparing Olise to wingers who have had significantly more game time.

Cole Palmer, for example, has been widely heralded as the ‘signing of the season’ by fans and pundits. His form since arriving in West London has been outstanding and he has often been the sole bright spark in what has been a difficult season for Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea.

However, Olise’s attacking numbers are superior to Palmer’s. He averages more assists and more non-penalty goals per 90 minutes, and even if penalty contributions are included, their respective goals and assists rates are equal at 1.14. 

When the disrupted nature of Olise’s season is taken into account, this becomes even more impressive. He does not require significant time to get back up to speed with the intensity of Premier League football, with there being virtually no drop-off in performance related numbers in the games before and after injury. This is rare, and is an ability that Eze, Palace’s other prized asset, does not possess. 

Goals and assists should never be used in isolation to compare players’ performance. Olise’s passing, dribbling and chance creation metrics are also notable.

He, at 4.84 progressive carries per 90, is superior to both Palmer (3.96) and Phil Foden (3.01) in his ability to progress play and advance up the pitch. Although this can be caveated by the fact that Palace are often winning the ball back in much deeper positions than both Chelsea and Manchester City, it still speaks to Olise’s forward thinking mindset. 

Credit: Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images

According to Transfermarkt, his dribble success rate of 68% is the fourth highest in the Premier League, with him attempting the fifth highest amount of dribbles 8.04 per game. 

Olise, despite playing for a side who have until recently been struggling to impose themselves on the opposition, consistently features at the top end of attacking statistical tables. 

With more consistent minutes at a club fighting at the top-end of the Premier League, he has the potential to hit unprecedented numbers. 

Does his immediate future lie elsewhere?

Even the most ardent of Palace fans would struggle to deny that Olise’s long-term future lies away from Selhurst Park. He is too talented not to be playing Champions League football for one of Europe’s elite clubs at some point. 

It is understood that the player, as he was last summer, is open to a move away and would relish the challenge of playing at a higher level. But, with a tricky release clause mechanism in his contract, any deal would not be straightforward to complete. 

As much as the release clause was included in the contract to protect the player’s interests, it also exists to ensure Palace receive a fee that they can countenance. 

There is also the issue of FFP and the problems clubs are having with new profit and sustainability regulations. Whether prospective suitors will be in a position to part with over £60 million on a player with a dubious injury record is debatable. 

It is very much a case of ‘wait and see’. Whilst the player is not thought to be openly agitating for a move, summer interest from a club of big enough stature could understandably change this. 

Palace fans will certainly be hoping that the club’s hierarchy can manage to persuade their starman to remain in South London. The fact that Olise has played a pivotal role in the club’s strong finish to the season, could help convince him that his future is best served under Oliver Glasner. 

0 comments