Michael Olise: How Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City passed on the Bayern winger
Rejected early by several Premier League giants, Olise has become Bayern's and France’s rising star and could command a €300M move.
Michael Olise has quickly become one of world football's most talked-about players, tipped as the first to command a transfer fee in the region of €300 million. Alongside Lamine Yamal, the 24-year-old winger is shaping football headlines with Bayern Munich and the France national team.
From youth rejections to a global stage
Olise announced himself on the international stage early in Zinedine Zidane's tenure with the France team: four goals and two assists in his first four Nations League appearances under the new coach. He provided the assist for Kylian Mbappé's winner against Turkey (0-1 on Zidane's debut), scored the winning goal in Brussels against Belgium (0-1), and netted France's only goal against Italy (1-1). He also sparked a comeback at the Stade de France after coming on as a 60th-minute substitute against Belgium, scoring twice and creating another as France overturned a 0-1 deficit to win 4-1.
The player endured a low point when Spain eliminated France in the World Cup semi-final on 14 July; like many of Les Bleus he was largely contained by Spain's defensive setup. Yet at club level Olise has rediscovered form: this season he already has 8 goals and 4 assists for Bayern Munich, building on a previous club season that produced 22 goals and 31 assists.
The surprising part of Olise's story is how several Premier League giants once declined him. Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City all passed on the youngster during his formative years — decisions that now look costly as Olise rises.
Portuguese coach José Gomes — now manager of Al Khaleej in Saudi Arabia and Olise's former mentor at Reading — has offered insight into those early spells. Gomes says Olise joined Arsenal in 2009 at the age of eight but struggled to settle and moved to Chelsea later that year. He remained at Chelsea's academy until 2016 when the club released him; Gomes says the departure was not about his footballing ability but about neglected schooling and frequent absences from class.
Gomes recalls Olise's brief time at Manchester City after his Chelsea exit: the player signed for City's academy in July 2016 but struggled with the physical side of the game and was mocked by teammates for his lack of upper-body strength, even during push-up sessions. Feeling rejected, Olise left City and spent six months without a club before joining Reading in July 2017, where Gomes coached him in the 2018/19 season and pushed him to work extremely hard.
Gomes captured Olise's appeal succinctly: "He is the kind of player who will bring people to the stadiums. It's impossible not to feel joy when you watch him play," Gomes said in 2021.
The rest is recent football history: Olise moved from Reading to Crystal Palace in July 2021 for €9.3 million, then to Bayern Munich in July 2024 for €53 million. He made his France debut on 6 September that year and is now linked with several top clubs, led reportedly by Real Madrid. For Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City the missed opportunity is clear; Bayern — should they sell — stand to make an extraordinary profit, with talk of a potential €300 million fee.
Photo: press material from the event
