Liverpool rumoured to have ADVANTAGE in Michael Olise race that Chelsea can't match

Liverpool could have an advantage over Chelsea in the race to sign Michael Olise. The Blues kickstarted the battle on Thursday.

The Telegraph reports that Liverpool may have an advantage over Chelsea when it comes to signing Michael Olise. This comes after the Blues put in an offer to Crystal Palace for the France star.

The entire battle may come down to one thing, however: a release clause. Olise apparently has one in his contract, allowing him to leave for £60m.

However, it's rumoured that the clause may only apply to Champions League clubs. The Telegraph's report stops short of saying this is definitely true but suggests there are sources that verify it.

Chelsea fell just short of qualifying for the Champions League next season, potentially eliminating them from the clause. Manchester United and Newcastle United - another two clubs heavily linked with Olise - are also excluded.

Liverpool, though, who the Mirror claim are interested in Olise would have access to said clause.

Michael Olise release clause

Now, there's two advantages here, really. The first is that Liverpool could secure Olise for £60m and it's possible that other clubs aren't quite willing to go that high.

Admittedly, that's unlikely. Even if the likes of Chelsea, United and Newcastle don't have the clause, they'd likely still be able to offer it anyway.

Palace could reject their offers, though, and force Olise to request a transfer to one of them. That would have implications on his loyalty clause and it's something he won't want to do.

But really, the biggest factor here is what it says about Olise. Palace wouldn't have chosen to put a clause in his contract unless the player wanted one.

And so if Olise requested a clause for Champions League clubs, it suggests he's actively wanting a move to a Champions League side. That's the real advantage here - Liverpool can offer Champions League football when few others can.

Now, whether Liverpool would want to sign Olise this summer is a whole other question - and one that's complicated to answer. If they decide to go for him, though, we imagine the Reds could have a better chance than anyone.