Chelsea and Mauricio Pochettino summer transfer decision backfires after £35m Crystal Palace moment
Since Todd Boehly's arrival over 18 months ago, Chelsea have almost always gotten what they wanted in the transfer market. In fact, almost every player they've been heavily linked with they've managed to secure, even with the likes of Liverpool competing with them for the signatures of players such as Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia.
Even amid the fierce competition, Chelsea still managed to get the pair in the summer. They managed to get Enzo Fernandez and they managed to get Christopher Nkunku, both with European heavyweights also sniffing around following impressive campaigns.
But arguably the one player that has eluded the Blues across the three window in the Boehly era has been Michael Olise. The former Cobham academy star actually left Stamford Bridge back in 2016 as a youngster before joining Manchester City's development squad before moving on to Reading where he made a name for himself in the Championship.
Since then, the star has thrived for Crystal Palace following his move in 2021, so much so that the Blues looked to bring him back to the Bridge over the summer after activating his release clause worth £35m. At the time, Eagles boss Roy Hodgson was looking at the possibility of losing both Wilfried Zaha and Olise in the same window but could only sit and watch as the negotiations went on.
Despite having all but signed the dotted line and make himself a Chelsea player, it was widely expected that Olise would be announced as a Blues player as the window wound down. But incredibly, the star signed a new deal after being convinced to stay by Palace chairman Steve Parish who announced the agreement in a social media post.
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