Michael Olise

Michael Olise

Olise in 2022
Personal information
Full name	Michael Akpovie Olise [1]
Date of birth	(2001-12-12) 12 December 2001 (age 22) [2]
Place of birth	Hammersmith, London, England
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) [2]
Position(s)	Right winger, attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team	Crystal Palace
Number	7
Youth career
2009	Arsenal
2009–2016	Chelsea
2016–2017	Manchester City
2017–2019	Reading
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2019–2021	Reading	67	(7)
2021–	Crystal Palace	82	(14)
International career‡
2019	France U18	2	(0)
2022–2023	France U21	7	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:21, 19 May 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:25, 25 June 2023 (UTC)

Michael Akpovie Olise (born 12 December 2001) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Premier League club Crystal Palace. Born in England, he represented France at youth international level.

Club career

Early career

Olise was a youth player at Arsenal, Chelsea (spending seven years with them before leaving aged 14), and Manchester City. ^[3]

Reading

In July 2018, Olise was inducted into Reading's Academy scholarship program. ^[4] He made his debut for Reading on 12 March 2019, in a 3–0 home defeat to Leeds United, ^[5] and on 15 July, he signed a three-year professional contract with the club. ^[6] He scored his first league goal for Reading on 19 September 2020, volleying home in the 76th minute with the second goal in a 2–0 win over Barnsley at the Madejski Stadium. ^[7] In April 2021 he was nominated for the EFL Young Player of the Season. ^[8] On 29 April 2021, he was crowned EFL Young Player of the Season. ^[9]

Crystal Palace

On 8 July 2021, Olise signed a five-year deal with Premier League side Crystal Palace after they had activated his £8.37 million release clause. ^[10]

On 11 September 2021, he made his Premier League debut for the club in a 3–0 home win against Tottenham after coming on as a substitute in the 86th minute in place of Jordan Ayew. ^{[11] [12]} Later that month, on 23 September, Olise made his full debut for Crystal Palace in a 1–1 home draw against Newcastle United. ^{[13] [14]}

On 3 October 2021, Olise scored his first Premier League goal for the club as a second-half substitute in a 2–2 home draw against Leicester City. ^[15] In doing so he became Palace's youngest Premier League scorer since Clinton Morrison in 1998. ^[16]

On 9 April 2023, Olise became the youngest player to assist three goals from open play in a single Premier League match in a 5–1 victory against Leeds United. ^[17] On 13 May, he became the first Palace player to register ten assists in a single Premier League season, setting up Eberechi Eze's second goal in a 2–0 win against Bournemouth. ^[18] On 17 August 2023, it was announced Olise had signed a new four-year deal with Crystal Palace, amidst reports that he was on the verge of re-joining Chelsea. ^[19]

In February 2024, Olise suffered a hamstring injury, described by Palace manager Roy Hodgson as "serious". In the 4–1 defeat by Brighton on 3 February 2024, Olise had come on as a substitute, only to come off limping shortly after. ^[20] He returned from injury in April that year, ^[21] followed by decent performances including scoring a brace in a 4–0 victory over Manchester United on 6 May. ^[22]

International career

Olise was born in England to a Nigerian father and French-Algerian mother, and is eligible to represent France, Algeria, England or Nigeria internationally. ^[23] On 27 May 2019, he was called up to the France U18 for the 2019 Toulon Tournament. ^[24] He made his debut on 2 June 2019, against Qatar U23. In March 2021, Olise was named as a standby for the Nigeria squad taking part in their Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Benin and Lesotho. ^[25]

In March 2022, Olise was called up to the France under-21 team for the first time, ^[26] and made his debut in the side's 2–0 win over the Faroe Islands under-21 team on 24 March. ^[27]

Style of play

Olise is a left-footed attacking midfielder who can play as a number 10, or either side of this position as a left or right-sided attacking midfielder. He is noted for his ability to quickly play passes that carve open defences. His first touch is good and he has a good awareness of what is happening around him. Olise has a good range of passing which he can use often to play in behind the opposition defence or switch the angle of attack. He likes to operate 50 to 30 yards out from goal in the right half-space, where he can use various options to continue the attack. ^{[28] [29]}

On the ball, Olise is an agile and mobile player. He is capable of turning quickly with good acceleration and change of pace, even when he is dribbling in very tight spaces or running with the ball. ^[29]

Personal life

Olise's younger brother Richard is also a footballer and joined Chelsea as an Under-9, representing England at youth level. ^[30]

Career statistics

As of match played 19 May 2024 ^[31]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		EFL Cup		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Reading	2018–19 [32]	Championship	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
	2019–20 [32]	Championship	19	0	3	0	1	0	22	0
	2020–21 [33]	Championship	44	7	1	0	1	0	46	7
	Total		67	7	4	0	2	0	73	7
Crystal Palace	2021–22 [34]	Premier League	26	2	5	2	0	0	31	4
	2022–23 [35]	Premier League	37	2	1	0	2	0	40	2
	2023–24 [36]	Premier League	19	10	0	0	0	0	19	10
	Total		82	14	6	2	2	0	90	16
Career total			149	21	10	2	4	0	163	23

Honours

Individual

• EFL Championship Young Player of the Season: 2020–21 ^[37]
• EFL Championship Team of the Season: 2020–21 ^[38]
• Premier League Goal of the Month: January 2023 ^[39]
• PFA Team of the Year: 2020–21 Championship ^[40]
• Reading Scholar of the Season: 2018−19 ^[41]
• Crystal Palace Players’ Player of the Season: 2022–23 ^[42]
• Crystal Palace Goal of the Season: 2022–23 ^[43]

References

1. "2021/22 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 10 September 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
2. "Michael Olise Midfielder, Profile & Stats". Premier League.
3. "How Chelsea hardship made Olise a Palace star". BBC Sport.
4. "12 youngsters inducted onto Academy scholarships". Reading F.C. 3 July 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
5. "East and Olise presented with framed debut shirts". Reading F.C. 23 March 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
6. "Olise signs three-year professional deal with the Royals". Reading F.C. 15 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
7. "Reading 2-0 Barnsley". BBC. 19 September 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
8. "Buendia, Pukki & Toney up for EFL award". BBC Sport.
9. "Norwich's Buendia wins top EFL award". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
10. "Michael Olise: Crystal Palace close to signing Reading forward". BBC Sport. 7 July 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
11. "Palace beat 10-man Spurs for first win". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
12. Low, Jonathan (13 September 2021). "Patrick Vieira says Michael Olise must show he's a team player at Crystal Palace". BerkshireLive. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
13. "Wilson stunner rescues point for Jones' Newcastle". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
14. "Crystal Palace vs. Newcastle United – 23 October 2021 – Soccerway". uk.soccerway.com. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
15. "Palace fight back to salvage draw with Leicester". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
16. Wyatt, Mark (5 October 2021). "Patrick Vieira says Michael Olise still needs time to develop". Football.London. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
17. "Leeds United 1–5 Crystal Palace". Sky Sports. 10 April 2023.
18. "Crystal Palace 2–0 Bournemouth". BBC Sport. 13 May 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
19. "Michael Olise signs new four-year contract - News". Crystal Palace F.C. 17 August 2023. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
20. "Michael Olise: Roy Hodgson says injury for Crystal Palace winger is 'devastating'". BBC Sport. 8 February 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
21. Woosnam, Matt; Tharme, Liam (12 April 2024). "Michael Olise – what makes him so special?". The Athletic.
22. Aarons, Ed (6 May 2024). "Michael Olise works magic for Palace to deepen Manchester United's misery". The Guardian.
23. Walters, Mike (15 January 2021). "Meet Michael Olise, already the Championship's most-coveted wonderkid". mirror.
24. "Loïc Mbe Soh and Arthur Zagre with France U18". psg.fr/ (in French). Paris Saint-Germain F.C. 27 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
25. "Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr clarifies Ahmed Musa is non-playing captain". bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 10 March 2021. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
26. "Michael Olise named in France Under-21s squad". Crystal Palace F.C. 17 March 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
27. "Olise makes first France U21 appearance in Faroe Islands win - News". Crystal Palace F.C. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
28. "Michael Olise Scout Report: How Crystal Palace's big signing from Reading can help Vieira get off to a good start". Total Football Analysis Magazine. 27 July 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
29. "Michael Olise: Reading's breakthrough teenager". Total Football Analysis Magazine. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
30. "Michael Olise To Represent France At Toulon Tournament". thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/. The Tilehurst End. 27 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
31. "M.Olise". Soccerway. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
32. "Games played by Michael Olise in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
33. "Games played by Michael Olise in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
34. "Games played by Michael Olise in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
35. "Games played by Michael Olise in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
36. "Games played by Michael Olise in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
37. "2021 EFL Awards winners announced". EFL. 29 April 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
38. EFL (English Football League) [@EFL] (29 April 2021). "It's time to introduce your @SkyBetChamp Team of the Season! #EFL | #EFLAwards" (Tweet). Retrieved 27 October 2021– via Twitter.
39. "Olise free-kick wins Budweiser Goal of the Month". Premier League. 3 February 2023. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
40. "Norwich City dominate with six players in PFA Championship team of the year". BBC Sport. 3 June 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
41. "Olise earns Scholar of the Year award". Reading F.C. 9 May 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
42. "Michael Olise named Players' Player of the Season 22/23". Crystal Palace F.C. 24 May 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
43. "Olise free-kick named Palace's 22/23 Goal of the Season". Crystal Palace F.C. 24 May 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.

External links

• Profile at the Crystal Palace F.C. website
• Michael Olise at the French Football Federation (in French)
• Michael Olise at Soccerway
• Michael Olise – UEFA competition record ( archive )