Michael Olise to Chelsea transfer truth as BlueCo learn harsh £253m lesson

Chelsea have missed out on the chance to sign Michael Olise not once, not twice, but thrice, and it's cost them hundreds of millions.

Chelsea have spent more than £250million on wingers since they first missed out on the chance to sign Michael Olise. The 24-year-old forward was heavily linked with a move to Stamford Bridge on numerous occasions in the past, only for the Blues to be eventually blown out of the water by Bayern Munich.

During the summer of 2023, football.london understood that Mauricio Pochettino wanted to sign a versatile attacker, so the west Londoners identified Olise as a target. At one stage, Chelsea were confident of securing the Crystal Palace star's signature, verbally agreeing on personal terms before pledging to pay his £35million release clause.

A switch collapsed at the eleventh hour when Olise decided to pen a new long-term deal at Selhurst Park instead, which included a new release clause. The Blues were left scrambling for alternatives in the final days of the window; in the end, they signed Cole Palmer from Manchester City.

Despite missing out on the Frenchman, football.london understood that Chelsea remained interested. But, after another impressive season in the Premier League, Olise had turned heads at Manchester United and, of course, Bayern Munich, making any potential deal a lot harder to complete

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Although the winger was born in Hammersmith, was on the books at Cobham from the age of seven to 14, and had a younger brother, Richard, who remains under contract at Stamford Bridge, in the system ranks at the time, it was understood that he had always been an avid Red Devils supporter.

Bayern eventually wrapped up a deal for Olise in July 2024, paying just £50million, including add-ons. The France international signed a five-year contract at the Allianz Arena, leaving Chelsea, again, scrambling for alternatives.

The Blues had already tried to plaster over the cracks in the frontline when they signed Mykhailo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk for an initial £62million in January 2023. But, naturally, the winger struggled to find his feet, on and off the pitch.

Then, desperate to make up for missing out on Olise in the summer of 2024, Chelsea forked out just under £100million on Joao Felix and Pedro Neto, who were signed from Atletico Madrid and Wolves for £45million and £54million, respectively.

The former was shipped out on loan to AC Milan in the January transfer window, while the latter only managed to string together three or four good performances at a time. Although Felix and Neto hardly set the world alight, Enzo Maresca built a system that brought the best out of his squad.

The Italian had built a team that was only a couple of world-class additions away from competing on all fronts. But despite Maresca's great work, winning the UEFA Conference League and the FIFA Club World Cup, he was hardly backed by the sporting directors.

Rather than sign a top winger that would significantly bolster the frontline, Chelsea signed Jamie Gittens and Alejandro Garnacho: two players who would've been perfectly acceptable understudies to a maverick forward.

The Blues forked out £52million and £40million, respectively, taking their total spend on first-team wide-men to an eye-watering £253million. Ironically, Chelsea still need to sign a world-class winger, three years on from when they first missed out on Olise...