Chelsea's on-pitch performance has been the direct inverse of the investment and ambition shown in recent years under Todd Boehly, Behdad Eghbali and Co.
Albeit improved form in the months building toward Mauricio Pochettino's departure salvaged Europa Conference League football after spending much of the campaign on middling ground, but this is hardly a shining achievement despite improving on the dismal 13th-place Premier League finish of 2022/23.
But Chelsea have now secured their project manager in Enzo Maresca, joining from Leicester City after winning the Championship with the Foxes in his maiden helmsman year, another acolyte streaking away from Pep Guardiola's all-engulfing managerial influence.
Supporters will hope for streamlined recruitment, and indeed the club are hoping to secure a transformational signing in the weeks to come.
Chelsea eyeing Premier League star
According to respected insider Simon Phillips, Premier League star Michael Olise is leaning toward a transfer to Chelsea over Manchester United, should he leave Crystal Palace this summer.
He stated: "A second source has now added more confidence that Olise will pick Chelsea over Manchester United, following on from my top source saying that last week. We will have to see how that one unfolds in the next days/weeks.”
Believed to have a £60m release clause with the high-flying Eagles, Olise is a long-term target at Stamford Bridge following his Cobham release in 2016, with the Blues even failing to convince the 22-year-old last summer despite meeting his £35m release clause. He then penned new terms.
Chelsea's instability likely deterred the winger from making a return, but Stamford Bridge is now confident of a resurgence and Olise could head the new era under Maresca's wing.
Why Michael Olise is so good
Micah Richards has already declared that Olise "is going to be world-class… he's going to be a superstar" back in February, and indeed the evidence suggests that Palace have a player of elite-level ability on their hands.
This season, Olise has scored ten goals and added six assists in the Premier League despite only starting 14 matches, honing his skill in the final third after an impressive 2022/23 season under Roy Hodgson, where he posted just two goals across 37 matches but did supply 11 assists for his teammates.
Typically found on the right wing, the £100k-per-week star is fast and furious, intelligent with his distribution and incisive in key moments, unleashing strikes and defence-splitting passes to equal effect.
As per FBref, the ace ranks among the top 1% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for goals, the top 3% for assists, the top 7% for shot-creating actions, the top 14% for passes attempted, the top 18% for progressive passes and the top 13% for successful take-ons per 90.
He's electric. Olise is headed right for the op and Chelsea would score an almighty success in bringing him back to the place where he cut his teeth as a teen. Every effort must be exhausted in making it happen.
How Michael Olise could fit in at Chelsea
Chelsea are already closing on their first signing of the summer in Fulham defender Tosin Adarabioyo, who is opting for a cross-London switch despite the vested efforts of Newcastle United.
But when have the west London giants ever rested on their laurels? Paul Winstanley and the rest of the recruitment team will fix the wrongs of recent years and ensure that Chelsea do not drift to and fro – instead lifting themselves back to the forefront of domestic and continental competition.
Olise, it could be posited, would be the catalyst in ensuring such lofty dreams become actuality, with the right-sided attacker utterly brilliant for the Eagles this season. Sure, his fitness record leaves plenty to be desired but Raheem Sterling and Noni Madueke are among the subsidiaries to balance the workload on the right flank.
Olise's creative genius – he has been described as "one of the best wide playmakers in Europe" by talent scout Jacek Kulig – was showcased during the 2022/23 campaign but he demonstrated his dynamism and stretched his wings onto a wider canvas this year, painting the Premier League in hues of his choosing.
Matches played
37
19
Matches started
31
14
Goals
2
10
Assists
11
6
Big chances created
11
9
Pass completion
78%
81%
Shots per game
1.4
3.0
Key passes per game
1.9
1.9
Dribbles per game
1.5
2.1
Recoveries per game
5.4
4.8
Tackles per game
1.6
1.0
Duels won per game
5.4
5.7
Statistical deep-diving has already been covered but just take a look at the improvements made this season, taking his clinical level to soaring heights, sharpening his technical ability and proving more relentless in his desire to push play forward.
While he only featured in half of the Premier League's fixtures, Olise has proven himself worthy of a leading role in a project such as Chelsea's, where he could rival even Cole Palmer for a place as Maresa's attacking talisman.
Palmer signed from Manchester City in a £42.5m deal last summer and while his talent had been shown in flashes, few foresaw the staggering quality that has taken the division by storm.
Plainly, few have been able to withstand the torrent of Palmer's prolificness, the 21-year-old scoring 25 goals and supplying 15 assists from 45 matches for the Blues.
1.
Cole Palmer
34
22
11
33
2.
Erling Haaland
31
27
5
32
2.
Ollie Watkins
37
19
13
32
4.
Mohamed Salah
32
18
10
28
5.
Phil Foden
35
19
8
27
5.
Heung-min Son
34
17
10
27
Manchester City's goal-scoring machine Erling Haaland boasts the best goal-per-match rate of any player on that list at 0.87, so it's rather telling that Olise's rate across the recently concluded Premier League campaign stands at 0.84.
Sure, he only featured throughout half of the campaign but the Les Bleus-aspiring phenom has proven himself – he is the real deal.
Chelsea would complete their attack by securing his signature, landing a versatile forward with potency to rival Palmer, who has even been hailed as "one of the best players in the Premier League" by pundit Jamie Carragher.
Olise has also found himself at the heart of such effusions, with Kulig dubbing him "one of the EPL's best players in recent weeks" back in January as he blitzed through opposition.
Chelsea must spend wisely to narrow the gap between themselves and the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City, but with this signing, that might just happen.
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ByTom LeverMay 29, 2024
