Crystal Palace have submitted a £7 million bid for Sporting Lisbon winger Abdul Fatawu Issahaku as the Premier League outfit look to bring in a replacement for the Chelsea-bound Michael Olise.
Only two players in England’s top flight produced more assists than Michael Olise’s 11 in 2022/23. And he is in pretty good company too; joining Kevin de Bruyne of Manchester City and Liverpool superstar Mo Salah on the podium.
So it almost goes without saying that losing Olise – in the same summer that saw Wilfried Zaha bid farewell – is a blow Crystal Palace could have done without. Olise will become the latest fresh-faced youngster to join the Chelsea revolution. Todd Boehly is dipping into his cavernous pockets again, agreeing a £35 million fee for a player who spent seven years in Chelsea’s academy before making his name at Reading (The Guardian).
And Abdul Fatawu Issahaku will have big boots to fill should he be brought in to take Olise’s place on the right-hand side of Roy Hodgson’s attack.
Crystal Palace’s Michael Olise agrees Chelsea move
The Ghana international is, after all, still a teenager at only 19. Then again, Olise was the same age when he joined The Eagles back in 2021, and that didn’t turn out too badly.
What Fatawu Issahaku lacks in proven quality, he arguably makes up for in potential. Described as arguably the greatest African talent of his generation by The Guardian back two years ago, Sporting Lisbon fought off competition from Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund to sign a player who became the youngest Ghanaian ever to feature in a World Cup in Qatar.
According to Record, Crystal Palace’s opening bid of £7 million falls short of Sporting’s demands. The Portuguese giants want closer to £13 million. Talks are ongoing, however. And Palace seem well-placed to do a deal after Issahaku struggled to establish himself as a first-team regular in Lisbon.
“He has a great talent. Very fast. He shoots from very far out and from different areas of the pitch,” Sporting coach Ruben Amorim says of Issahaku. “He can improve a lot. We count on him and it’s only up to him to (force his way into) the first team. We believe in him a lot.
“It took a lot of work to convince him (to sign), knowing that there were many clubs that wanted him.”
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