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4th January 2024
09:53am GMT
Manchester United are willing to activate Michael Olise's release clause as Sir Jim Ratcliffe looks to make a marquee first signing.
Olise has been hot on the radar of Premier League clubs and almost joined Chelsea in the summer before opting to stay and sign a new deal at Crystal Palace.
Despite missing the start of the season, the France under-21 international has five goals and four assists from nine league games and has been one of the standout players at Selhurst Park.
According to the Evening Standard, United are looking to make Olise one of the first signings of the Ratcliffe era but aren't expected to make their move until the end of the season.
Any deal would have to see Olise's release clause of £60m met - an increase from the initial £35m one that Chelsea activated earlier this season.
Goals and creativity have been hard to come by for Erik ten Hag's side. So far, they've scored just 22 goals in 20 games are expected to allow Jadon Sancho and Anthony Martial leave Old Trafford in the coming months.
As for the other options at the club, their performances have been consistently inconsistent.
Marcus Rashford looks a shadow of the player he was last season and Antony has zero goals and assists from 21 games in all competitions.
Alejandro Garnacho has shown glimpses but at such a young age, shouldn't be expected to drag the rest of the United team along.
Olise offers one thing that most United players cannot: excitement.
His clinical prowess in front of goal and ability to get people off seats with the way he glides past opponents can't be undermined.
While it wouldn't solve all of their problems (there's a lot), signing somebody with knowledge of the league and creative ceiling Olise has would definitely be a good start.
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