Crystal Palace Boss Admits Club Face ‘Fight’ To Keep Hold Of Michael Olise

Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson has admitted that the club face a ‘fight’ to keep hold of Michael Olise, amid interest from Manchester City and Chelsea. The winger enjoyed a stellar campaign last time out, recording 11 assists and scoring twice. Wilfried Zaha has already left the club so far this summer and Hodgson can ill-afford to lose another key member of his squad.

Mauricio Pochettino is keen to add another winger to his squad, and Chelsea are thought to be willing to pay up to £40m for Olise. Riyad Mahrez has departed the Etihad and Pep Guardiola wants to add another forward to his frontline to compensate. Palace would seek upwards of £55m to allow Olise to leave and Hodgson admits the club face a ‘fight’ to keep the former Reading ace.

“We have a fight on our hands to make sure he stays with us,” said Hodgson. “We had two outstanding wingers who were almost the best in the league – Michael Olise on the right side and Wilf on the left. We don’t have Wilf anymore. Clubs are circling around Olise.

“We’ve lost five senior players from last season and brought one in – Jefferson Lerma; he’s good and we’re happy to have him in – but there is still that hole of five senior players in the squad, two of whom were two of the real stars of the team.”

Hodgson is aware that he needs to strengthen his squad if they are to compete this season, but admits that it will be difficult with the current financial climate. “There’s a bit of work for the chairman and sporting director to do between now and the end of August, because the team we put out today was in our opinion, at this moment in time, our best team, but we don’t have the strength behind that team that we had last year.”

It remains to be seen whether Crystal Palace can keep hold of Michael Olise, but it is clear that they face an uphill battle against some of Europe’s biggest clubs. With the transfer window closing soon, it could be a race against time for Hodgson and his team.

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