Dan Cook has been speaking on the HLTCO podcast about how Crystal Palace’s Michael Olise should be talked about as a future Ballon d’Or winner.
While not starting as much as he may have liked this season in the Premier League, Olise has made a big impact at Palace, as he already has four goals and eight assists across all competitions, while boasting the most goal-creating actions per 90 minutes within the squad (as per FBRef).
Have Crystal Palace underachieved?
Yes!
No!
Olise is still just 20 years old but is keeping someone who shone brightly last season in the form of Eberechi Eze out of the side this season since his return from injury, and his future certainly looks bright.
Cook has even gone one step further to say he’s not just got a bright future, but one that could see him pick up top individual awards.
He said: “I saw somebody a little while ago say that if we’re talking about Phil Foden as a potential Ballon d’Or winner of the future, then we almost have to put Michael Olise in that same conversation – albeit, he’s only done it in the Premier League for two-thirds of the season.
“At his age, what he’s able to do with the ball, his calmness in possession, his poise, his ability to sort of slow the game down around him is something that I always used to say in conversations with my dad in relation to Zinedine Zidane.
“He was a footballer that got onto the ball, and it was as if everyone else around him went into slow motion. He has that calmness, or had that calmness in possession that just made everything look incredibly simple and almost, as I say, as if it was half the speed it was to everyone else – and Michael Olise, to a certain extent, has that same quality.”
TIF Thoughts on Olise…
It’s incredibly high praise for Olise to even be mentioned in the same conversation as the legendary Zinedine Zidane, however, given his tender age and ability to single-handedly turn a game as he did in the early stages of their match against Burnley at the weekend with a superb assist as well as a few weeks ago in the FA Cup against Hartlepool United with a goal and an assist, there are certainly signs the youngster has plenty of potential to fulfil.
However, as Cook said, he’s not even done it for an entire season, while from next term, it’s going to be a real test as teams will know more of what he’s about and could be doubled-up on a lot more often.
In other news: Crystal Palace drop jaw-dropping Zaha training footage