Crystal Palace finished 10th in the Premier League this season. That doesn’t sound like much, but considering the precarious position the London club found themselves in earlier in the season, this is a big accomplishment. Considering the fact that Palace haven’t finished this high in the league since 2015 makes this an even bigger accomplishment. A lot of praise has been given to manager Oliver Glasner for the increase in form, but arguably the main component in Palace’s good run has been Michael Olise’s performances this season.
Olise’s good season has led to links with Manchester United as well as Chelsea, with the winger also earning a call up to Thierry Henry’s French Olympics squad for this summer. But why do United want him? Is he an improvement on the team’s existing right winger options? Let’s find out.
Looking generally at his strengths and weaknesses, OIise stands out as a creative force. A high 84th percentile ranking for open play shot creating actions and expected goals assisted indicates that Olise produces a high volume of high-quality chances for Palace forwards. 5.8 xG assisted led to 6 assists in the league – that is, his chance creation is slightly better than expected given his positioning.
We can also prove that Olise is proactive in creating chances with high rankings for key passes (97) and passes into the penalty area (98). He’s a player that always looks forward – a 88th percentile ranking for progressive passes shows this.
Olise isn’t just a creator, however. 10 goals this season shows us that Olise can finish chances as well. 126 shots this season places him in the 98th percentile and his non-penalty xG per shot is very low (0.08xG, 16th percentile). He takes a lot of low-quality shots. However, a 94th percentile ranking for non-penalty goals minus expected goals suggests that his shot heavy playstyle is justified. Olise tends to take his shots around the right-hand side edge of the penalty area, shown by the grey convex hull on his shot map for this season. It’s where a good portion of his goals have come from as well. However, Olise is willing to take shots from all around and inside the box as well, with two of his goals coming inside the six-yard box.
Defensively, Olise is very good as well. Ranking in the 92nd percentile for blocks and the 83rd percentile for interceptions suggests that Olise is very good at reading the play both in and out of possession, making him useful for teams that deploy a high press. However, a low ranking for aerial duel success (31) means that he isn’t a great outlet for long balls over the top.
We can put Olise in the same category as other elite attacking midfielders this season. Using my Principal Component Analysis-based Similarity Scores, we can see that players like Jamal Musiala and Cole Palmer have been closest to Olise stylistically this season. The inclusion of centrally operating players like Musiala or De Ketelaere as well as real wingers like Leon Bailey and Rayan Cherki in this list is a credit to Olise’s diverse skillset. He has the creative and passing ability to play further inside, and the carrying ability to play further outside. This makes Olise a great asset to any manager with any playstyle, and at 22 years of age, he can still be moulded into shape by a good coach.
To get a better idea of just how Olise has gathered praise this season, let’s take a look at one of his best games. Despite United’s injury crisis reaching a peak, Crystal Palace were dominant against them in a 4-0 victory at the end of the season. In what could have been seen as an audition for the French winger, Olise scored a brace and walked straight through United’s defence with his elite dribbling skills.
In this game, Olise very much controlled the right hand side of the pitch, with his touches spanning the middle of the goal to the touchline. Very much an inverted winger, Olise would collect the ball out wide before laying the ball off and running inside or make those runs on the ball himself.
Olise was expansive in his passing game during that match, with a few switch balls along with shorter passes and attempted cutbacks. His two goals were struck from his usual place of business – on the edge of the penalty area. In possession, Olise seemed almost unstoppable – although given the performance of certain United players that game, not much stopping was ever going to be done.
So, is Michael Olise a player that United should be looking to sign? Is he an improvement?
United are fairly weak on the right but do have options. Antony has become quite infamous in that position, losing his place to Alejandro Garnacho and then Amad this season. Jadon Sancho is also unlikely to return to the team after his dispute with Erik ten Hag. However, Garnacho favours playing on the left, and Amad hasn’t had that much topflight experience. The only real right winger in the squad with first team minutes is Antony, and when comparing him to Olise, the difference in quality is clear.
Antony has a very unique skillset compared to other wide midfielders. He is very useful in defence. He ranks top in Europe for blocks and ranks very highly for tackles (97) and interceptions (98). He also likes to get forward when on the ball, ranking decently for both progressive passes (89) and carries (77). In the final third, he also produces a lot of chances, generating a high volume of shot creating actions. A good chunk of those come from defensive actions, suggesting that his defensive work rate is often quite productive.
However, tenacity is where most of his qualities lie. This season, Antony has become notorious for a lack of good quality output in possession. His trademark routine of cutting inside from the right and taking shot with his left foot is very telegraphed and not very useful – despite ranking in the 65th percentile for shots, he fails to breach the 15th percentile mark for npxG per shots and npG-xG. That is, he’s not getting into good shooting positions, and his finishing ability is poor.
Despite Antony generating a lot of chances, those chances aren’t very good either. He ranks in the 56th percentile for expected goals assisted and in the 18th percentile for penalty area touches. He isn’t giving his teammates great chances to score, and he isn’t putting himself into positions to do so – likely because he tries to craft out his signature shooting technique too often. Whilst Antony’s passion and work rate cannot be disputed, it can almost feel like wasted energy when looking at his output.
Olise would definitely be an improvement on Antony. Olise is good in the press and is progressive on the ball, so he possesses Antony’s strengths. On top of that, he creates high quality chances at a high rate, and has a good finish – he doesn’t share Antony’s weaknesses.
With nobody in United’s squad fully able to claim that right winger spot for themselves, signing Michael Olise would be a very wise decision for Manchester United this season. There are reports of a release clause and an affinity for the club from the player. Now that Erik ten Hag’s position as manager has been confirmed, now would be a good time to begin strengthening his squad – and Olise is definitely a player that can bring the team to the next level.
