Crystal Palace £60m star Forward shines in Man United defeat and puts the Reds on alert in transfer race with Sir Jim Ratcliffe ready to make him first summer signing

Crystal Palace £60m star Forward shines in Man United defeat and puts the Reds on alert in transfer race with Sir Jim Ratcliffe ready to make him first summer signing

Michael Olise scored two of Crystal Palace’s four as they hammered Manchester United – who are likely to be interested in the winger come in the summer transfer window.

Michael Olise was sensational as Crystal Palace celebrated ten years since Crystanbul with another stunning result against a Premier League giant.

And the only downside for Oliver Glasner’s high-flying Eagles is that the French Under 21 international will be a huge summer target for big spenders like Manchester United.

On May 5 2014, Tony Pulis’ side came back from 0-3 down at half-time to end Liverpool’s title challenge. Last night at raucous Selhurst Park, there was no chance of a comeback as the brilliant Olise scored in each half.

He suffered a slow start to the season after a hamstring season but has now scored nine goals and provided four assists in his 12 Premier League starts.

Pre-match stats from Sky Sports showed that since January 2022, Palace’s win percentage climbs from 20% to 48% when both Olise and the returning Eberechi Eze are stating teams with an average 0.5 goals per game.

But beyond the numbers, the 22-year-old creates a buzz every time he touches the ball like Wilf Zaha in his day. He was the best player on the pitch.

Chelsea triggered his £35m release clause last last summer but Olise elected to stay and his buyout is now £60m. If Antony cost £82m, Olise is worth every penny. Newcastle United have also been long-time admirers.

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Former Palace favourite Gareth Southgate was in the crowd last night to see Kobbie Mainoo but how he must wish the Hammersmith-born star – who has a Nigerian father and French-Algerian mother – would declare for England.

The 3-3 Crystanbul draw was voted by Palace supporters as their greatest game in Premier League history. This win will not be far behind. Speaking after the game, Jamie Carragher claimed that Olise and team-mate Eberechi Eze would walk into United’s squad.

He said : “In Eze and Olise, Crystal Palace have got two players that would walk into Manchester United’s team. Under Oliver Glasner, they have been brilliant. Manchester United never looked like scoring.”

Glasner added: “Congrats to the team for the win. The first half we didn’t really play well.

We opened the middle too often and they could find the pockets but we were very efficient so we scored very nice goals.

“At half-time, we made two or three adaptions and the players listened. Second half, it was much better, we had much more control, created a lot of chances and scored nice goals. It’s a great win.”