Chelsea have decided not to pursue their interest in Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise any further and have withdrawn from the deal, according to reports.
The Blues had identified the Frenchman as a top target in the summer transfer market, alongside interest from Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City, and other clubs.
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However, a report yesterday indicated that Bayern Munich, managed by Vincent Kompany, are now expected to reach an agreement with Palace, with personal terms for Olise unlikely to be an issue.
Olise, who scored 10 goals and provided six assists in 19 appearances during the 2023/2024 season, was close to joining Chelsea last summer before opting to sign a new contract at Selhurst Park, which increased his buy-out clause.
David Ornstein of The Athletic confirmed on Saturday that Chelsea have now “pulled out of the process” to sign Olise after contacting Palace on Thursday to express their interest in the winger.
Ornstein added: ‘That was granted and Chelsea indicated they wanted an outcome by the end of this week.
‘Chelsea made what they believed to be their strongest offer but felt the finances involved were beyond reach and chose not to proceed.
‘The Stamford Bridge hierarchy are aiming to create a more disciplined wage bill than in the past and if a transfer target does not fit into that they would rather reward existing players who out-perform over time or invest in new elite talent on more reasonable salaries.
‘While there is no doubt about Chelsea’s pursuit of Olise — for the second summer running — its potential impact on their squad balance and depth meant the conditions needed to be right.’
One player who has been linked with a move away from Chelsea this summer is Connor Gallagher with rumours the club could sell him to help with the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules.
But former Chelsea midfielder Emmanuel Petit believes Gallagher should be kept around as there aren’t enough English players currently at Old Trafford.
Petit said: “I think it’s the wrong decision, he’s English! It’s important for the fans.
“There are so many foreign players at Chelsea. I’ve been at the club so I know just how important it is for the fans to have English players at the club.
“They will get good money for Gallagher but he is one of their best players! They can easily afford to sell 4 or 5 other players in the team instead.”
Mauricio Pochettino was replaced by Enzo Maresca this month but Petit thought the Argentinian should have been given a chance next campaign after a good end to the last season.
Petit added: “I’m very disappointed. I still don’t know what the board wants to do. I have respect for what they have done so far, splashing more than £1bn or so on the transfer market and they have tried to buy so many young, talented players but I’ve been told they may have to sell Conor Gallagher for FFP, I just don’t get it.
“I know it was a difficult season for Pochettino but the last few months the team has improved a lot and you can see some individuals were much happier than at the start of the season.
“I was thinking, give him a chance to continue to work with his staff and I think the change of manager, with a new philosophy, the change of players coming in and out of the club, will disrupt the stability.
“They will repeat the same cycle over and over again, and it doesn’t work like that so they need to learn from it.
“This isn’t like American sports, it doesn’t work like that, you need stability so I was very disappointed Pochettino left the club.”
