Reading of England youngster, Michael Olise is set to follow the footsteps of Eberechi Eze at Crystal Palace, as The Eagles, who shot Victor Moses to limelight, are keen on yet another Nigerian-born youngster, megasportsarena.com reports.
With Eze currently waxing strong with Palace in the English Premier League, the London-based side are turning their attention on the latest sensation at Reading, which also has a strong and long tradition of having Nigerian-born players in their squad.
The latest youngster to flaunt is France youth international Olise, who is only in his first season with Reading but is already attracting attention from far and wide, with captivating form and goals for The Royals so far this season.
Consequently, a report by British tabloid, Sunday People has disclosed that Crystal Palace are leading the race for the 19-year-old Olise; and they are likely to secure his signing when the January transfer window opens.
The report, though, adds that Leeds United are also keen on a deal that would take Olise to Elland Road in the mid-season window; while Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Wolverhampton Wanderers have also been named as potential suitors for The Royals’ whiz-kid.
However, another report by Football League World added that Reading have no plans to sell Olise, who the portal also says has emerged as a target for Chelsea, having spent some time in The Blues’ and Manchester City youth academies before joining The Royals in 2016.
The versatile attacking midfielder broke into Reading’s senior team in 2019 and is now waxing stronger in the ongoing season, thereby leading to frenetic interest from Arsenal, Everton and Liverpool, as the personal stock rises for the la born in France to Nigerian parents.
Olise has featured twelve times across all competitions for Reading, racking up a return of two goals and three assists in the process, which have also attracted attention from Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig of Germany as well as AS Monaco of France.
Incidentally, Olise’s brother Richard is a youth international for England and plays for Chelsea, where Michael cut his teeth in the round leather game, before making his mark last season with Reading, when he emerged from the under-18s to win a place in the first team and caught the eye with his final-day cameo against Birmingham City.
In recognition of his status as a highly talented young player, Olise became one of just three members of the French youth squad that are based outside France, along with Koba Koindredi and Ulrick Brad Eneme Ella, even as his prospects continue growing in leaps and bounds.
Football.London added: “It was recently reported that the attacking midfielder had a release clause of just £8m in his current contract. However, Chelsea, along with the rest of the clubs, have been dealt a blow in the race for the teenager.
“As things stand, Reading have absolutely no intentions of offloading their prized asset currently. In fact, it is being claimed that the second-tier side will look to open new contract talks with Olise in the New Year.
“The number of clubs interested in the youngster is an indicator of the potential that Olise possesses. So, it doesn’t come as a surprise that Reading want to tie him down with a new contract. It remains to be seen if Chelsea, or any other club for that matter, will make a move for the youngster before that.”
