Former champions Bayern Munich FC finished 3rd with 72 points in the 2023/24 German Bundesliga, 18 points behind champions Bayern Leverkusen. In a bid to get back to the summit, they have acquired the services of 22-year-old Michael Olise from Crystal Palace for £45m plus a potential £5m in add-ons.
Olise signed a five-year contract with Bayern Munich, making him the first player to sign from Crystal Palace to join the German giants. He will be with familiar faces like England captain Harry Kane, Eric Dier, Leroy Sane, Serge Gnabry, and former Burnley manager Vincent Kompany, who all played in the English Premier League.
Manchester United was in hot pursuit of signing the tricky winger, but he opted to join the German Jagannath, where he thought he had a better chance of reaping immediate success. Olise started his career by going through the ranks of the Arsenal Youth System before joining Chelsea and Manchester City. He made his senior debut in March 2019 for Reading. He went on to play 73 times for Reading before moving to Crystal Palace for the 2021/22 season; over his tenure, he scored 16 goals and provided 25 assists in 90 competitive appearances.
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Max Eberl, FC Bayern board member for sport: “Michael Olise is a player who can make a difference and has attracted great interest in his style of play. We want new impetus in our team, new energy, new ideas – that’s what players like Michael Olise stand for. During the talks, he quickly signaled that he wanted to join FC Bayern. We’re very much looking forward to him. He will enrich our game.”
Christoph Freund, FC Bayern sporting director: “Michael is quick, tricky, a goal threat and very versatile in attack. His goals and assists stats are already outstanding. At 22, Michael is already very advanced but hungry and still has much potential. Fans come to the stadium to see players like Michael Olise.”
Michael Olise: “The talks with FC Bayern were very positive, and I’m thrilled to be now playing for such a big club. It's a great challenge, and that's exactly what I was looking for. I want to prove myself at this level and play my part in ensuring that we win as many titles as possible with our team in the coming years.”
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Manchester United hoped to replace Anthony Martial with Olise, but the plan was skewed, and they have now turned their interest to Matheus Cunha. Matheus Cunha has been on Manchester United’s radar for the past season, and scouts have been closely monitoring the Brazilian forward as a suitable replacement for Anthony Martial to bolster the strike force. Cunha secured a permanent move to Wolves from Atletico Madrid for £44 million last summer. The striker linked up well with Pedro Neto and fellow Brazilian Joao Gomes in his debut English Premier League season, netting 14 goals and providing eight assists. His stellar performance was crucial to Wolves’ survival under former boss Julen Lopetegui. However, to acquire the services of Cunha Manchester United, they will have to come up with £60 million, which is the asking price from Wolves.
Manchester United is also working to finalize the signing of Bologna forward Joshua Zirkzee, triggering his £40 million release clause and talking about a transfer fee. The Dutch international is with the Netherlands at the Euro 2024, where they will play England in the semi-final on Wednesday, July 10, 2024. Manchester United will kick off their 2024/25 Premier League campaign with a friendly against Rsosenburg before a tussling up with Rangers, then Arsenal and Liverpool in the Rivals in Red USA 2024 tour.
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