Chelsea are set to continue their spending spree this summer, with the deal for an "enormous talent" looking more and more like a formality, per transfers expert Fabrizio Romano.
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Mauricio Pochettino's side have been on a serious buying spree in recent weeks after starting the summer with a firesale of first-team players the club deemed surplus to requirements.
And despite just smashing the league's transfer record by signing Brighton & Hove Albion's Moises Caicedo for £115m and following that up by agreeing a £53m fee for Southampton's exciting youngster Romeo Lavia, the Blues want more.
The next item on the agenda seems to be another attacker, and with the recent long-term injury to new boy Christopher Nkunku, that's not all that surprising.
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The player Todd Boehly and Co have opted to sign to bolster their front line is Crystal Palace's Michael Olise, with the Blues activating the dynamic winger's £35m release clause to take the deal out of the South Londoner's hands, per transfers expert Fabrizio Romano.
He explained the situation on his YouTube channel, saying:
"Now [the] £35m release clause for Michael Olise has been activated by Chelsea. It was an exclusive news about the release Clause of Olise, and I saw for many days people denying the clause is no longer there the clause has been removed. No, the clause was there the clause was valid was considered by both Chelsea and City, both clubs [were] waiting to understand also how was advanced in the situation of the injury of Michael Olise as he was injured in June.
"But now Chelsea decided to proceed with the player saying yes, with his Camp being very open to move to Chelsea. Chelsea decided to activate the clause. Now it's time to fix the deal with the Agents of the player to prepare the structure of the contract in this case because, with Palace, there is no need to negotiate [as] the clause has been activated, and then Olise is going to become the third signing in couple of days for Chelsea.
"So, incredible spending from Chelsea, incredible commitment from the owners, let me say because they're really investing and investing and investing on young talents, so the vision is clear, and Olise is going to be the next signing with a very long contract I will enter into details as soon as possible, but the deal is imminent for Michael Olise to Chelsea.
"So, work in progress on that one waiting very soon for the here we go."
How old is Michael Olise?
Born December 12th 2001, in Hammersmith, England, Olise is 21 years old, and despite being born in London, he has opted to represent France at both under-18 and under-21 level due to his French-Algerian mother.
While the agile attacker made his Premier League debut for Palace in the 2021/22 season, starting 12 games and making a further 14 appearances from the bench, it was last season when he truly burst onto the scene and made the country take notice.
In his 31 starts for the Eagles last campaign, he scored two goals, provided 11 assists, took 1.4 shots per game, won five Man-of-the-Match awards and averaged a superb match rating of 6.99, per WhoScored.
His underlying numbers also make for impressive reading and suggest that his output could explode under a more attacking coach like Pochettino.
According to FBref, which compares players in a similar position across Europe's top five leagues, the "enormous talent", as described by manager Roy Hodgson, sits in the top 7% for assists, the top 9% for blocks, the top 15% for interceptions, and the top 18% for expected assists and tackles, all per 90.
Described as "one of the best wide playmakers in Europe" only a couple of months ago by football talent scout Jacek Kulig, it's fair to say that despite being just 21 years old, Olise has well and truly announced himself to fans of the Premier League, and by joining Chelsea, he might just have the opportunity to do the same on a European stage soon enough.
