Following a successful season with Crystal Palace, Michael Olise’s future with the national team has been discussed by Gareth Southgate.
Michael Olise remains on England’s radar despite pledging to play for France (Image: Getty)
The Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise currently wants to play for France, but England will keep an eye on his international status. Even if Olise had chosen to play for the Three Lions at Euro 2024, Gareth Southgate maintains that the process of changing his allegiance would have taken too long.
Olise only appeared in 19 Premier League games for Palace in the previous season due to a string of hamstring problems brought on by a problem he encountered while representing France in the U21 European Championship.
Even so, the 22-year-old helped Palace sneak into the top half of the table under Oliver Glasner by scoring a career-high 10 Premier League goals and assisting on another six. Olise may represent Les Bleus at the Olympics, but he is not part of France’s 25-man roster.
Four Palace players are in the England squad that is being considered for Euro 2024, a testament to the team’s outstanding progress under Glasner. Adam Wharton, Marc Guehi, Dean Henderson, and Eberechi Eze are all on the 33-man list that has been extended. But if Olise had remained loyal to the Three Lions, it might have been five Palace stars.
England manager Gareth Southgate is a fan of Michael Olise (Image: Getty)
He would require an association transfer. That would be a time-consuming process. Regarding Olise, a former France U18 and U21 international who, according to Express Sport, still has dreams of playing for Didier Deschamps’ team, Southgate said, “He is obviously a very good player, he hasn’t made their squad, they might be taking him to the Olympics, I don’t know.”
“He is a very good player, so we should be interested in him, but you couldn’t possibly do all of that in time for the Euros.”
After making an impression in his first five months in the Premier League, midfielder Wharton has earned his first call-up to the senior team. The 20-year-old, who cost £18 million when he was acquired by Palace from Blackburn in the January transfer window, is a vital component of Glasner’s 3-4-3 formation.
“Adam Wharton has had an amazing rise; five or six months ago, none of us would have imagined that we would be speaking in this manner,” Southgate said. “Look at him and Kobbie Mainoo.”
However, this also serves as a small indication of the two boys’ strong play and the depth of that portion of the field.
“A great technician, Adam has excellent ball handling skills and a calm demeanor that I find endearing.” I believe Palace has found a system with a back three behind that really works for him, both in terms of the role he plays and the system he plays in.
“There are some details about that we need to learn. Because Eze and Olise are [coming] in off the wings and don’t need to defend as far back, [Palace’s system] works well for them as well. We are eager to learn more about him because he seems to be in a good place and exudes confidence.
