Man Utd very confident of beating Chelsea to £60m transfer viewed as key to their summer plans

Manchester United are reportedly very confident of beating Chelsea to the transfer of Crystal Palace star Michael Olise this summer.

The young Frenchman has shone at Selhurst Park and it seems likely that the Eagles will struggle to hold on to him for much longer as bigger clubs circle for his signature.

The likes of Man Utd and Chelsea would likely also have to pay Olise’s £60million release clause at Palace, and it seems the Red Devils strongly believe the player would choose Old Trafford over Stamford Bridge, according to a report from Team Talk.

The report adds that Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who is now in charge of sporting operations at United after purchasing a 25% stake in the club recently, is making Olise one of his top targets.

Olise transfer seen as crucial for Manchester United project

Team Talk state that the signing of Olise is seen as part of Ratcliffe’s plans to get MUFC back to where they used to be, with signing the best players in the Premier League seen as a key part of their strategy.

The 22-year-old certainly looks like he’d be a fine fit for Erik ten Hag’s side, giving the team a better option on that right-hand side than Antony, a similar left-footed winger who plays from that side, but who has majorly flopped during his time in England.

Olise would also surely do a job at Chelsea, though, where numerous attacking players have struggled to get going, such as Mykhailo Mudryk, Noni Madueke, and Raheem Sterling.

It’s fair to say United and Chelsea are both a long way from where they’d ideally want to be this season, but the Red Devils remain the bigger name overall and haven’t fallen away quite as much as the Blues, who finished 12th last season and who are currently 11th.