Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise has decided to join Bayern Munich.
Bayern are now expected to agree a deal with Palace for the 22-year-old France youth international to put an end to speculation over his future this summer.
The Athletic revealed that the German club had contacted Palace, while Chelsea were given the go ahead to speak to Olise before deciding the finances involved were beyond reach and chose not to proceed.
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Newcastle United also approached the Selhurst Park club while Manchester United and Manchester City have long retained a strong interest in the player.
Olise was close to completing a move to Chelsea last summer but he opted to stay in south London, signing a new four-year deal.
Olise, who joined Palace in 2021, scored 10 goals and provided six assists in 19 appearances during a standout 2023-24 campaign under new manager Oliver Glasner despite his campaign being disrupted by a hamstring injury.
His star further rose when he was named in France Under-23 head coach Thierry Henry’s preliminary squad for this summer’s Olympic Games.
The men’s football tournament runs from July 24 to August 9, when the gold medal match is scheduled to take place in Paris. If France make it to the final, Olise would have just two weeks to recover before the opening day of the 2024-25 Bundesliga campaign.
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Why Olise is a target for Chelsea, Man Utd and Newcastle - creative, confident and game-changing
How did Olise perform last season?
Analysis by Gillian Kasirye
A hamstring injury restricted Olise to 19 appearances in 2023-24 but Palace’s win percentage leapt from 26 per cent to 42 when he was in the team.
His nine non-penalty goals last season came from an expected-goals (xG) figure of only 4.7 and his six assists followed his Premier League record for Palace of 11 in 2022-23.
Olise is left-footed but plays mainly on the right. He is confident, creative and able to make things happen and his attacking output and ability to break down defences is why he has been on the radar of some of the biggest clubs in Europe.
‘A beginning of a new era at Bayern’
Analysis by Seb Stafford-Bloor
It’s not difficult to understand the recruiting logic. One of Bayern’s new focusses is to invest in younger players, not just stars. Olise, 22, clearly suits that aim, in being a young, talented player who is only likely to improve and appreciate in value.
It makes sense in finer detail, too. While attacking midfield has long been considered a strength for the side, the department is on the wane. Serge Gnabry’s form and fitness have been questionable for some time. Leroy Sane remains unpredictable. Kingsley Coman has played in just 17 Bundesliga games last season and only 24 the year before.
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Thomas Muller is coming towards the end of his career, so the position needs renewal —and Olise would infuse something fresh. As a left-footed ball-carrier and playmaker, he would provide something that Vincent Kompany does not already have. A symmetry, perhaps.
He would also add to what, already, looks like the beginnings of a new era. Jamal Musiala is already becoming a star of the game. Mathys Tel will surely climb to that level over the next few years. Add in Aleskandar Pavlovic, emerging midfielder Lovro Zvonarek, and potentially Olise too and there is a group of similar-aged players who can stay together and evolve over a long period of time.
And this is a great time for him to make the move. Kompany is a native French speaker, of course — his ability to communicate in several different languages was one of the reasons why he got the job — and his record with younger players will no doubt have encouraged Bayern to see this as a smart investment.
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