There was a time, a few months ago, when Manchester United appeared to be the most likely destination for one of the continent’s most in-form attackers.
And the flying start he has made to life in his new home will be all the cynics need to pile more pressure on a much-maligned Manchester United recruitment team.
But to frame this simply as a deal the Red Devils let slip foolishly through their grasp would be more than a little unfair. This was always going to be a summer restricted by Profit and Sustainability Pressures, after all. To put it simply, United had to sell before they could buy.
And any funds generated via the sales of Mason Greenwood, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and co realistically had to be directed at centre-halves, defensive midfielders and strikers, given the various holes in Erik ten Hag’s squad.
As such, by the time Ineos really started making plans for the summer transfer window, Michael Olise felt less like a necessity and more like a £50 million luxury.
- READ MORE: Manchester United confirmed signings, transfers in, out, loan exits, releases for 2024/25
Manchester United shown what they’re missing by Michael Olise
That does not mean, of course, that the remarkable numbers of the dazzling performances Olise is producing at Bayern Munich will not add to the frustrations of an already disillusioned fanbase.
In seven Bayern games, Olise has five goals and three assists. Eyebrows were raised when Bayern Munich paid £50 million for the former Crystal Palace talisman. It’s fair to say those doubters have little to say for themselves these days.
For those non-mathematicians out there, meanwhile, Olise is averaging more than one ‘goal contribution’ per appearance at the German giants, sparking comparisons with two of the finest wingers in Bayern’s history only a few months into his Allianz Arena journey.
“I like Franck Ribery very much. When I think of the French players at FC Bayern, I think of him above all,” Bayern’s sporting director Max Eberl told reporters last week.
“Michael is a player who, like a young Ribery or a young [Arjen] Robben, can achieve extraordinary things.
“He picks out his teammates even better than Arjen Robben,” Bayern legend Lothar Matthaus adds, via Sky Germany. “He has speed, wit, he recognises the situation.
“Yes, a bit like Arjen Robben.”
United were still right not to rival Bayern Munich in £50m deal
Bayern have plundered 30 goals from just seven games already in 2024/25.
The fearsome partnership Olise is striking up with Harry Kane – another who might have joined Man United had the stars aligned – certainly has shades of the Robben and Robert Lewandowski double act which took German and European football by storm in those heady days of Pep Guardiola.
According to the Daily Mail, it cannot be discounted that Olise arrives at Man United eventually.
It is no secret that the one-time Reading schemer has red blood running through his veins, and we mean that metaphorically as well as literally. Olise is a big Manchester United fan.
Olise to Old Trafford became increasingly unrealistic as the summer loomed into view this year, with Amad Diallo, Alejandro Garnacho and Antony all vying for a place and reinforcements more pressing elsewhere.
As Olise sparkles and United struggle – Ten Hag’s team in negative goal difference once again – there will be those who will be wishing the Red Devils could turn back the clock.
But, as impressive as Olise might have been at Bayern, would it really have made sense to push Amad or Garnacho down the pecking order while leaving Ten Hag shorter than ever at centre-half, centre-forward, or in defensive midfield?
As painful as it may feel right now, this is a decision that – from both a sporting and a financial perspective – should prove to be the correct one in time.
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