There have been plenty of impressive performances in the Premier League this year, from Crystal Palace's win at Old Trafford to Arsenal's hammering of West Ham United. Still, there is an argument that Chelsea's draw away to Manchester City over the weekend is just as impressive as any.
Mauricio Pochettino's side managed to go to the home of the Treble winners and come away with a point that nobody saw coming, and it could've been three had their frontline been more clinical.
It would appear as if the Argentine is finally starting to get a tune out of his inexperienced but talented squad. However, there will always be questions about the club's recruitment policy, especially after they released so many of their own gifted youngsters in the past, such as Declan Rice.
That said, while allowing the Englishman to leave will always haunt the Pensioners, another rising star who looks destined to reach the very top of the game was released by the club as a teenager.
The rise of Michael Olise
Now, there are plenty of examples of former Chelsea prospects who've been released and gone on to do great things in the game, such as the aforementioned Rice and Jamal Musiala, but the decision to release Michael Olise as a youngster could rank as one of the Pensioners' worst.
Yes, the Blues did, in fact, have the talented Frenchman on their books for seven years when he joined from cross-city rivals Arsenal in July 2009 before leaving in July 2016.
A few weeks of playing in City's youth teams would follow, but the dynamic attacker would eventually spend six months without a club before finally signing for Reading, following several showcase events in London.
One of the men who ran these events was Sean Conlon, who had known Olise for years, and he claimed that the scouts at these events were "in disbelief about how good Michael was", which, considering his performances for Palace, isn't hard to believe.
In two and a bit seasons of senior football for the Royals, he scored seven goals and provided 14 assists. He also won the EFL Young Player of the Season award for the 2020/21 campaign.
Just a couple of months later, he was snapped up by the Eagles for around £8m in what now looks like one of the best transfers completed by a Premier League side in recent years.
How Michael Olise has performed for Crystal Palace
The Hammersmith-born gem made his Palace debut on 11 September 2021 and has been terrifying defenders ever since.
In that first season for the Eagles, the "superb" dynamo, as described by talent scout Jacek Kulig, scored four goals and provided eight assists in just 31 appearances.
His goalscoring took a hit the following year, but his creativity flourished, and he ended the campaign with two goals and 11 assists to his name in 40 appearances.
Unfortunately, the 22-year-old has been blighted by injury this season, but even so, he has managed a seriously impressive six goals and three assists in 11 appearances for the south Londoners.
Season
2021/22
2022/23
2023/24
Appearances
31
40
11
Goals
4
2
6
Assists
8
11
3
This impressive form led to plenty of speculation and rumours about a possible move to Chelsea or City in the summer – with the Blues reportedly activating a release clause in his contract.
However, instead of leaving, Olise opted to sign a new deal at Selhurst Park, which Steve Kay of Football Transfer reported last month could include a release clause worth £60m, meaning that releasing Olise as a youngster could prove costly for the Blues should they go back in for him in the summer.
Chelsea sold homegrown whiz for £180k and now he's worth £128m
The “ice-cold” gem has an incredibly bright future ahead, having left the Blues academy in the past.
ByJack Salveson Holmes
Ultimately, things are looking up for Pochettino's young team, but the Argentine would've surely loved to have a player of Olise's quality in his squad.
