Aston Villa are confident the club can beat competition from the Premier League’s ‘Big Six’ to the signing of Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise.
Unai Emery’s team are closing in on a place in next season’s Champions League and can confirm their qualification with a win over Liverpool on Monday night, or if Spurs fail to beat Burnley on Saturday.
Qualification for Europe’s elite competition will see Aston Villa step up the next stage of their rebuild.
Football Transfers are reporting that Olise is a transfer target for Villa and the club’s likely place in the Champions League, alongside a guaranteed regular first-team role, could see The Villans beat Manchester United and Arsenal to his signature.
Manchester United face missing out on Europe and there is uncertainty on who will be in charge at Old Trafford next season, while the presence of Bukayo Saka could limit Olise’s minutes if he were to move to North London.
The 22-year-old turned down interest from Chelsea to sign a new contract at Palace last summer, which is understood to include a release clause of around £60m. That fee would represent a club record for Aston Villa, eclipsing the £51.9m spent to sign Moussa Diaby from Bayer Leverkusen in 2023.
Olise has nine goals and four assists in the Premier League this season despite starting just 12 games due to injury. He is open to an exit for a team playing Champions League football as he looks to break into the France national team.
Palace are said to be open to the sale of a big name to raise funds for Oliver Glasner, amid considerable interest from rival clubs, though will not sell the trio of Olise, Marc Guehi and Eberechi Eze in the same transfer window.
