Imagine that you are bold enough to take a bet on a prodigy from the lower leagues, he turns out to be brilliant and then picks up an injury that could exclude him for eight months. What are you doing?
You go and buy another one – obviously.
Now we know what you’re thinking, of course it’s not as simple as just diving into the championship, choosing a talented youngster and knowing full well that he will perform at the highest level – because as we have already avoided, these types of signings are a game. But in Michael Olise, Crystal Palace has bagged a player who looks like an absolute superstar.
When Palace picked up Eberechi Eze last summer, the only strange thing about the move was that more Premier League clubs were not interested in the former QPR man.
Eze had torn championship teams all season and £ 16 million represented a bargain. England Under-21’s first season in top flight gave us some highlights, with his solo goal against Sheffield United currently at Eagles’ 48% goal of the season.
Welcome to the Palace, Michael Olise ✍️ # CPFC | https://t.co/utMcYSlISB
– Crystal Palace FC (@CPFC) July 8, 2021
With a season in the Premier League under his belt, the 2021/22 campaign had plenty of promise for the youngster, but an Achilles injury that was taken up in training at the end of last season has potentially ruled him out until next year.
It is unclear whether Ese’s injury was the catalyst for Palay’s pursuit of Olise, but whatever their motives, they have secured the signing of a real gem.
Before Olise’s breakthrough campaign last season, Reading were one side at their best in the midfield with their lack of goals preventing them from pushing for a top-half goal – do familiar Palace fans sound familiar?
Olise’s creativity and drive, however, saw the Royals unleash their true potential last season – eventually it only got shorter than the playoffs – with the young link’s play with Lucas Joao comfortably helping the big forward record their best goal scoring season to date.
There are a lot of similarities between Palace and reading old ones in terms of their style of play, and if Olise can enter into a partnership with frontman Christian Benteke as he did with Joao, the Eagles could really be in business.
Michael Olise is by Philip Zinckernagel / Richard Heathcote / Getty Images
The most impressive aspect of Olise’s play is without a doubt his close ball control and technical ability. The kid is a box of tricks that regularly made the Championship defenders look ridiculous when they tried to push him when he had the ball at his feet.
The confusion comes when players try to stand out from him and give him time to show off their skills, but his ability to carry the ball as he runs in time before jumping past players simply means that standing is not an option.
Olise not only has the betrayal and creativity to unlock defense, he also has a magic wand with his left foot. The 19-year-old can play either left or right but is much better suited for the latter where he can slide in and connect with teammates – at which time he usually curls the ball in the far corner.
The idea that Olise will line up with Eze and Wilfried Zaha is a really scary perspective if the new Palace manager Patrick Vieira chooses to play a more adventurous brand of football than we are used to seeing from the club. But no matter how Palace play, Olise is a star in the beginning and they have done fantastic to secure his signing.
