Michael Olise: Reading have one of the hottest properties in Europe – but can they keep him?

It’s not very often that Reading have a player linked with Real Madrid and Barcelona, but then again, it’s not very often that they have a player that could be good enough to play for them.

18-year-old Michael Olise definitely isn’t there yet but, after some stellar performances so far this season, there are definitely signs that he could be good enough to rub shoulders with the big boys in the Champions League one day. This weekend, he’ll be up against Stoke in the Championship looking to help his side return to winning ways after back-to-back defeats.

Having spent time at Manchester City and Chelsea’s academies, Olise was inducted onto Reading’s Academy scholarship program in 2018 and was in-and-around the first-team picture not long after then. Eligible for England, Nigeria and France, the teenager has already made two caps for the French under-19 side, featuring for them at the Toulon Tournament last year.

This season he has become one of the first names on Royals boss Veljko Paunovic’s teamsheet and the fact he was given the number seven shirt also underlines how highly he is thought of at the club.

A silky dribbler with an eye for a pass, and although you could describe promising wingers like that, Olise has something different about him. He glides across the pitch and, even at 18, you get the feeling that something will happen as soon as he gets the ball.

Dynamic play again by Olise in the build-up again. Spun and threaded a ball through… eventually it found its way to the Portuguese forward who swept in his second!#REACOL | 2-1

— Reading FC (@ReadingFC) September 5, 2020

Olise is probably one of the exciting youngsters in England, if not Europe, and has reportedly been attracting interest from numerous clubs around the globe, including Liverpool, Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Monaco and Napoli.

None of these links are concrete and could just be speculation, and it’s understood that there is currently no firm interest in him. However, Leeds and Wolves have been looking at him for a while and did hold some interest in the summer.

There have also been reports that there is an £8 million release clause in his contract but this is unlikely, with the Royals not tending to put release clauses in many player’s contracts. If this was the case, you’d think a club would have definitely paid that by now in advance of January.

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So, assuming there is no release clause, how much would Olise go for? A teenager playing regular Championship football and linked with numerous clubs across the continent immediately makes you think of one man…well, boy. Jude Bellingham.

Before his move to Dortmund in the summer, the 17-year-old scored four goals and recorded three assists in the second tier with Birmingham City. He then made his move to Germany for what is being reported as an initial £25 million.

Whilst Bellingham is a year younger than Olise, the Reading youngster is just two goals and an assist away from matching the former Blues player’s tally from 2019-20. This admittedly doesn’t mean a hell of a lot but it highlights the fact that big teams across Europe are taking a look at youngsters that are performing at this level.

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It’ll be near impossible for Reading to keep hold of Olise if teams as big as Barcelona and Real Madrid are sniffing around and, if the price is right, they will be happy to sell him and reinvest that money into the squad – especially when you consider the financial position the club is in.

Reading coach Nuno Gomes even revealed on a podcast this week that Paunovic described the club’s objectives for the campaign as a “peaceful season” and to increase playing time for the younger players for selling/revenue purposes.

So don’t be surprised if Olise makes a similar move to Bellingham next summer, but it certainly won’t be on the cheap and you’d hope that his number seven shirt will remain un-retired.

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