Chelsea eye huge Man Utd transfer blow as Blues 'make first move in £60m chase'

Chelsea are stepping up their pursuit of Michael Olise in a bid to beat Manchester United to his signature, according to reports. Olise is thought to be in high demand, with several top Premier League clubs said to be keen on landing him this summer.

The 22-year-old has been linked with United over the last few months, with Crystal Palace having a release clause worth around £60million in his contract. However, it seems Chelsea could steal a march on the Red Devils after pushing ahead in their own pursuit of the versatile forward.

The Blues have made the first move in the battle to sign Olise by making contact with Palace, according to The Mirror. It is said that Chelsea are desperate to beat United, Arsenal and Liverpool to a deal with Olise having been identified as a priority target by Enzo Maresca.

Palace have reportedly accepted that Olise wants to play Champions League football and will allow him to leave. Chelsea did not qualify for Europe’s premier club competition but are said to be confident that Olise will move to Stamford Bridge regardless.

The west Londoners are known to have a long-standing interest in Olise and tried to sign him last summer but failed to get the job done. He ended up signing a contract extension at Selhurst Park and remains tied down until 2027, but it seems likely that he will leave his current club before the new season begins.

United have also been credited with a desire to land Olise but the Red Devils have a limited transfer budget to work with. It remains to be seen where he will end up, but Chelsea will be hoping to thrash out a deal as quickly as possible to ward off competition from elsewhere.

Olise is widely considered as one of the best young forwards in the Premier League, having thrived at Palace since joining the club from Reading in 2021. He missed a large chunk of last season with a hamstring injury but still managed to score 10 league goals in just 19 appearances.