NIGERIAN-born playmaker Michael Olise has become one of the most sought-after midfielders in the English Premier League in the run-up to the opening of the January transfer window forcing Championship side Reading to place a £40m price tag on him.
Olise, 18, is a left-footed mercurial playmaker, who started his career at the Chelsea academy before proceeding to Manchester City from where he joined Reading in 2016. Eligible to play for France, England and Nigeria, Olise has already featured for the French U18 team but Super Eagles head coach Gernot Rohr has him on his radar.
Sensational since the start of the current season, Olise has attracted the attention of the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal, Everton, Chelsea, Manchester City, Leeds United and Wolverhampton Wanderers. Several foreign clubs including Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Monaco and Napoli are also said to be keen on him, forcing Reading to declare that they will not take anything less than between £30m and £40m for his services.
Olise is one of the most productive teenagers in England’s top four divisions this season with a hand in eight goals, scoring twice and providing six assists in sixteen league appearances. His contract at the Madejski Stadium runs out at the end of the 2021/22 season, so Premier League clubs are hoping to sign him during this January transfer window.
In May 2019, Olise was called up to the France U18 for the 2019 Toulon Tournament. However, during the recent October Fifa match window, Mr Rohr had him pencilled down as a potential invitee for the two friendlies against Tunisia and Algeria.
