Chelsea withdraw from signing Olise due to financial constraints, focusing on rewarding current players.
Chelsea opt for disciplined wage bill approach over big spending in the market.
Chelsea have withdrawn from the race to sign Crystal Palace ace Michael Olise, according to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, with the west Londoners feeling that the finances involved were beyond their reach this summer. With Mykhailo Mudryk and Raheem Sterling flattering to deceive of late, newly appointed Enzo Maresca and his entourage are keen to bolster their attacking ranks over the coming months.
Todd Bohely and Co had been long-term admirers of the sought-after winger, who was also liked by Premier League duo Manchester United and Newcastle United. The uncapped Frenchman, one of the best players left out of Didier Deschamps' Euro 2024 squad, was whiskers away from completing a move to Stamford Bridge last summer, but he opted to stay at Selhurst Park and signed a new four-year deal.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Ornstein insisted that Chelsea had held discussions with Palace over their fleet-footed winger, but felt that what his current employers were wanting, combined with his wage demands, was ‘beyond reach’.
Chelsea withdraw from race to sign Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise. #CFC held talks with #CPFC + 22yo but felt finances involved beyond reach - instead plan to reward existing players & new recruits (expected to add 2 attackers)”.
Instead, in order to address their finances, Chelsea are looking to create a more disciplined wage bill and, as a result, they’d rather award current players over spending big in the market on transfer targets that do not form a part of their new and improved financial structure.
Confidence remains within the Stamford Bridge echo camp that remains high that Maresca, formerly of Leicester City, and his team are likely to include two attacking additions this summer, with the five-time Premier League champions looking to secure Champions League football for the 2025/26 campaign at the Italian tactician's first time of asking.
In a matter of minutes, following on from his exclusive news break that Chelsea had ruled themselves out of the race for the 22-year-old, Ornstein also revealed that Olise has now decided his next move, with him choosing to join Bundesliga and European giants, Bayern Munich.
The report suggests that the German club had previously made contact with his representatives with them keen to strike an early deal to fend off the competition from English quartet Chelsea, Newcastle, Manchester United and Manchester City.
In 2023/24 alone, Olise, 22, registered a career-best campaign of 10 goals and six assists, despite missing a large chunk of the season with injury problems, and will add a different dimension to the Bavaria attack.