Chelsea ready to offer 2 first-team stars in swap deal offer for Michael Olise - Reports
Premier League giants Chelsea are ready to offer two first-team stars in a swap deal for Crystal Palace forward Michael Olise, according to The Sun. Centre-back Trevoh Chalobah and winger Noni Madueke could be included in a potential deal to bring the 22-year-old from Selhurst Park to Stamford Bridge.
Olise was undoubtedly impressive in the 2022-23 season with two goals and 11 assists in 37 Premier League games, which ignited Chelsea's interest in his services. However, he stepped it up a notch even in an injury-hit 2023-24 campaign, bagging 10 goals and six assists in just 19 league games.
The Blues reportedly tried and failed to sign him last summer for £35 million. The bid supposedly activated a complicated release clause worth nearly £60 million in his new contract, which he signed at the start of the 2023-24 campaign.
On Chelsea's side of things, Chalobah and Madueke have been solid squad players during their time at the club. The former graduated from their famed Cobham academy in 2021, while the latter arrived from Eredivisie side PSV for €35 million in January 2022.
Chalobah has made 80 appearances (five goals, one assist), while Madueke has bagged nine goals and three assists in 46 appearances for Chelsea across all competitions.
Both players are on long-term contracts at the club, with the centre-back's deal lasting until 2028 and the forward's deal until 2030. Mail Sport has claimed that multiple fringe players could be included in a potential offer for Olise, with striker Armando Broja being named as another candidate for a swap deal.
Other clubs interested in Olise's services include Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Newcastle United, but the Blues are reportedly confident about getting Olise to sign on the dotted line.
"He has got that skill" - Former Chelsea forward compares transfer target Michael Olise to Bayern Munich legend
Former Chelsea forward Tony Cascarino compared Crystal Palace star and Blues transfer target Michael Olise to Bayern Munich legend Arjen Robben.
Cascarino, who bagged eight goals and five assists in 45 appearances for the Blues between 1992 and 1994, called the France under-21 international a 'fabulous talent'.
Robben and Olise are both left-footed and are impeccably adept at dribbling and finishing. Naturally, the ex-Irish striker drew an analogy between the pair of players, claiming that it was a "big comparison."
In conversation with talkSPORT, Cascarino said (via The Chelsea Chronicle):
"At his very best, he is a fabulous talent. He has got that skill, when he wants to get on his left foot, and he is versatile, he can play in a number of positions... He has got that Arjen Robben sort of scenario, the one where we think he is going on his left foot, he is going on his left foot, and he is still on his left foot and he sticks it into the top corner. Olise can do that. Obviously there is a big comparison there. Not as quick as someone as Robben, but great touch."