Well well well….
Just as it looked like Chelsea were finally closing in on a deal for Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise, the entire deal has collapsed, according to top insider David Ornstein.
His exclusive reveals that the Blues have decided that the “finances involved were beyond reach”, that is to say he was asking for too much money. Bayern Munich seem to now be favourites to sign the former Reading winger.
Ornstein adds that Chelsea’s plan is to “reward existing players and new recruits” – with two new attackers set to join. That presumably means one striker to back up Nicolas Jackson and one winger in the place of Olise.
It’s still a bitter blow to miss out on a top player for the second summer in a row. It really felt like we were going to get it done, and all the top insiders (including the likes of Ornstein and Fabrizio Romano) were saying they were confident it would happen. It will be very interesting to see what direction the summer takes now.
Where that leaves Chelsea now
It’s not exactly a desperate situation – we were well stocked in attacking positions already, and the move for Olise had in fact precipitated some talk about potentially selling someone like Noni Madueke, or using Cole Palmer centrally more often.
We’re sure they will be back in the market for another right winger now – unless they decide to hold out until next summer when Kendry Paez (and potentially Estevao Willian) arrive.
What’s more concerning is the fact that a top tier, elite player who would immediately and significantly improve our team has been missed out on because we’re worried about wages. That’s a fact that will frustrate and concern many fans who want to see us compete at the very top again, not just become a Brighton-style profit-making player trading operation.