Palace beat Leeds, Liverpool to Champ talent after triggering £8m clause
Crystal Palace have seemingly won the race to sign Michael Olise after reportedly triggering the £8m release fee in his Reading contract.
The 19-year-old is regarded as one of the brightest talents in England outside the Premier League. He scored seven goals and weighed in with 12 assists during an outstanding season at the Madesjki Stadium.
However, after Reading’s failure to maintain their play-off push, the Hammersmith-born Olise will now leave. Indeed, the teenager has made no secret of his desire to test himself at a higher level.
And with just a year left on his deal, the Royals face a losing battle to convince him to stay.
Indeed, Olise is one of the most highly-rated young wingers in Europe. The French star has a number of clubs chasing his signature, including Bayern Munich as previously revealed. Chelsea, Arsenal and Leeds are also among those keeping tabs on him.
We also revealed back in December how Olise had also caught the eye of Liverpool transfer guru Michael Edwards.
However, it is Crystal Palace who have made their move for the teenager. As per Football Insider, he’s a signing expressly targeted by new boss Patrick Vieira, who is reportedly a huge admirer of the France U18s international.
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They claim Palace have contacted the Royals to trigger the £8m release clause in his deal. Furthermore, there is a growing confidence at Selhurst Park that Olise will become the first signing of the Vieira era.
Olise is left footed but can play off either wing. He will likely compete for Eberechi Eze and Wilfried Zaha for a starting spot. However, the capture of Olise may increase speculation that Zaha will get his long-awaited move away from south-east London.
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Palace in talks for England youth striker
Olise might not be the only teenage star to arrive at Selhurst Park in the coming days. That’s after a report claimed the Eagles are in talks to sign young forward Morgan Rogers from Manchester City.
The 18-year-old has been with City since 2019 after signing from West Brom, but has yet to make an appearance. And it may be that he never kicks a ball for the Citizens, with the Eagles ready to swoop this summer.
TheDaily Mailare reporting that talks are already under way about a move south for the England Under-18 ace.
Rogers was loaned to League One club Lincoln City in January. And it proved to be a successful loan as he was handed 26 starts among 28 outings for the Imps.
Able to play anywhere behind the main striker, he chipped in with six goals and four assists for Michael Appleton’s side.
But with Vieira keen to reduce the age of Palace’s side, Rogers could also soon make the move to Selhurst Park.
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