Chelsea supporters have been handed an interesting update on Crystal Palace star Michael Olise as the club's transfer plans take shape.
Who will Chelsea sign next?
The west Londoners now face missing out on star midfield target Moises Caicedo after Liverpool and Chelsea agreed a British-record £111 million fee for the Ecuador international.
Mauricio Pochettino's side have been chasing a move for Caicedo all summer, with reports earlier this week detailing they were growing confident, but Liverpool's late hijack appears to have put a dent in their hopes of signing him.
Reds boss Jurgen Klopp even confirmed to the media that Liverpool had agreed a fee with Brighton for Caicedo, despite not having limitless resources.
"The fee with the club is agreed," said Klopp in his Friday press conference.
"We will see what that means. We aren't a club with endless resources and we didn't expect a couple of things to happen this summer. Then it happened."
This comes as a very unexpected development late in the transfer window and Chelsea may now have to consider alternative targets, like Southampton's Romeo Lavia.
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Pochetttino's side have already put pen to paper on moves for Christopher Nkunku, Axel Disasi, Nicolas Jackson, Lesley Ugochukwu, Robert Sanchez and Angelo this window, but Todd Boehly and co are after even more after many departures.
Indeed, Kalidou Koulibaly, N'Golo Kante, Edouard Mendy, Mateo Kovacic, Mason Mount, Kai Havertz, Christian Pulisic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Cesar Azpilicueta, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Ethan Ampadu have all departed Stamford Bridge for pastures new.
In terms of other transfer targets, Palace star Olise has been central to rumours linking him with a move to Stamford Bridge this summer.
The forward's contract contains an enticing £35 million release clause, with journalist Pete O'Rourke sharing the latest on their pursuit to Football Insider.
The reporter writes that Chelsea are set to step up their chase for the Frenchman, after they missed out on Ghana international star Kudus to Brighton.
O'Rourke wrote:
"Chelsea are ready to step up their interest in Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise as they are set to miss out on top target Mohammed Kudus – who is closing in on a move to Brighton.
"However, there are question marks about Olise’s fitness. He is set to be out until September with an injury he picked up with France at the Under-21 European Championships."
How good is Michael Olise?
The 21-year-old attacker was a Selhurst Park standout under two different managers last term, finishing 2022/2023 as one of Palace's best-performing players per match with 11 assists and two goals (WhoScored).
Eagles boss Roy Hodgson, commenting on Olise's exceptional form last term, called the player an "enormous talent".
“I have seen him for 10 days less than I have seen the others," said the current Palace manager to media members.
What I make of him is that I think he is an enormous talent – he has got a great possibility to have a wonderful career and a wonderful future. We can only hope we at Crystal Palace can give him that platform.”
Indeed, all signs point towards Olise being a promising move.