Chelsea kickstart £60m bidding war for Liverpool target Michael Olise: What’s being reported

Chelsea have initiated the bidding war for a Liverpool transfer target. It could well dominate the news for the next few weeks.

Reports everywhere claim Chelsea have bid for Crystal Palace star Michael Olise. The Athletic, the Telegraph and the Mirror are among those saying there’s been contact.

The Blues are hoping to steal a march in the race for Olise, with plenty of clubs hoping to snap him up. The Athletic’s report mentions that both Newcastle United and Bayern Munich recently made some sort of contact with Palace.

The Mirror go further, claiming both Manchester clubs, as well as Arsenal and Liverpool want Olise. What Chelsea are actually doing here, then, is initiating a bidding war.

The Telegraph feel there’s a potential twist here, though. Olise has a £60m release clause in his contract but one that’s a little murky - few are sure about it’s exact standing.

There’s a sense that it might only be available to Champions League clubs, which would actually hurt Chelsea here. Not only would it mean they can’t use the clause, but it would also suggest that Olise is interested in specifically joining a club in the Champions League.

Chelsea bid for Michael Olise

Liverpool have a decision to make, then. They were likely hoping that moves for Olise would come later in the window, given the Reds haven’t had a lot of time to make up their mind with Arne Slot only recently starting his job.

We also if this is actually all happening a solid year before Liverpool wanted it too. Olise is a natural replacement for Mohamed Salah, but the Egyptian isn’t likely to leave this summer.

Next summer? Now that’s very possible, and Olise would slot into a first-team role very nicely in that case. That’s not the case right now, though, and Liverpool would struggle to offer the Palace star a regular place.

That likely rules them out of the running this summer, admittedly. Chelsea will have plenty of competition for Olise, but we’re not certain it will come from Anfield.