Dribblings like Leroy Sané
Dribblings like Leroy Sané
Crystal Palace's Michael Olise is on the verge of a move to FC Bayern. He would be the club's fifth England transfer in three seasons. The 22-year-old's game resembles that of a modern-day winger. His
In recent years, more and more top English clubs have attacked FC Bayern's dominant market position in German soccer. Numerous players from the Bundesliga, for whom the record champions are also said to have been interested, preferred to move to the island instead of Munich. This group includes attacking all-rounder Kai Havertz and goalscorer Erling Haaland. The purchasing power of the Premier League clubs has made it difficult for Bayern to improve its own squad with renowned top players. In response, FC Bayern is now increasingly looking around the English market itself. Following the transfers of Sadio Mané (2022) and Harry Kane (2023), FC Bayern are on the verge of snatching another coveted player from the English club. According to reports, Munich sporting directors Max Eberl and Christoph Freund have reached an agreement with winger Michael Olise from thriving London suburb club Crystal Palace.
The 22-year-old reportedly has a release clause at Palace, which is believed to be 50 million pounds (just under 60 million euros). If FC Bayern's supervisory board, led by influential honorary president Uli Hoeneß, were to approve the costly move, the club would have spent around 200 million euros on new players over the course of three seasons. After Mané and Kane, as well as the two loan deals João Cancelo and Eric Dier, Olise would be the fifth professional from the island in this period.
Michael Olise would be the fifth England signing in two years
FC Bayern's approach would continue the recent change in strategy in several respects. For a long time, Munich had deliberately avoided bidding for professionals from England's top league. Between 2011 and 2020, the club only brought in substitute goalkeeper Pepe Reina from Liverpool FC. And unlike the aforementioned internationally renowned players, who were all at least 29 years old at the time of their transfer, Olise has the status of a talent. If he were to transfer, he would put the regulars on the wings, if they were to stay in Munich at all, under strong competitive pressure: Leroy Sané, Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman are all 28 years old.
Michael Olise was part of an exceptionally good Palace generation in pre-season, along with Eberechi Eze, Marc Guéhi and Adam Wharton, who are almost the same age and equally talented. Under former Bundesliga coach Oliver Glasner, who was installed in February, the team produced an excellent end to the season with six wins in seven league games. Olise scored four goals and provided three assists, a feat he also achieved in the winter with eight goals in five games. Palace picked up the most points of the season in each of these phases.
Tricky and dynamic - Olise mainly plays down the right flank
The fact that the club was still in danger of relegation at times was also down to Olise - because he was out for half the season. In the summer of 2023, the London-born player, whose mother is of French descent, suffered a thigh injury playing for France's U21 national team. He had to undergo surgery - and his rehab had a number of setbacks, which is why Olise only played his first competitive game of the season in November. At the start of the year, he injured his thigh again, but in a different place. As the injury had apparently not healed properly when he resumed playing after just a few weeks, it flared up again. This time, Olise was out for two months and only returned in April.
At Palace, Olise mainly played on the right offensive side. His style of play resembles that of a modern-day winger: He is tricky, dynamic, fast and dangerous. As a left-footed player, he often moves into the middle to finish himself or pass to a teammate. His movements are probably the closest to Sané's; both are almost the same height (Olise 1.84; Sané 1.83). In a way, he would join the tradition of dribbling side players at FC Bayern, which was once established by the wingers Franck Ribéry and Arjen Robben.
Michael Olise wants to become an international at FC Bayern
After more than 150 professional games for Palace and his youth club FC Reading, the attraction for Olise of a move to Bayern is likely to be playing in the Champions League for the first time and competing for titles. For him, it is also about being nominated for a senior national team for the first time - so far he has only played for French junior teams. He would also still be eligible to play for England. If the transfer is completed, Michael Olise's development in the Premier League will be followed with interest. After all, it could shed light on how often FC Bayern will continue to make representations in England.