The 'weird' reason Man Utd target Michael Olise doesn't celebrate scoring some of his goals

Crystal Palace’s Michael Olise rarely celebrates his goals. Here’s why.

Despite missing much of the season after tearing his hamstring with France under-21s this summer, Olise has made a big contribution to Palace this term.

The 22-year-old’s balletic dribbling and balance have seen him get the better of countless fullbacks this term, while he has netted five times in his nine Premier League appearances this season.

That includes four goals and an assist in Palace’s last four games.

Such performances have seen the Evening Standard link Olise to Manchester United. While a move has been ruled out in January, the club have allegedly identified the winger as a transfer target for the summer.

Olise only signed a four-year contract at Palace in August, but that £100,000-a-week deal is said to include a release clause that comes into effect this summer.

While the size of such a clause is unknown, it is likely to be significantly higher than the £35million from his previous Palace deal.

Those who have watched Olise regularly will know that in public he tends to be an understated character, while he rarely celebrates his goals. After netting a 91st-minute free kick to equalise against United last season, for example, Olise just stood still, seemingly unmoved by his heroics.

According to former Reading teammate Michael Morrison, it's something Olise has always done.

Shortly after Olise's £8million move to Palace in 2021, Morrison told the Athletic: "We’d say he’s a bit weird sometimes because when he scored goals, he sometimes wouldn’t celebrate.

"We’d be like, ‘Mike, you’ve just scored an important goal and you’re just walking back?’. What’s he doing?

"Then he’d play two-touch with the manager (Veljko Paunovic) in the gym, he’d win a point in that, and he’d be shouting and celebrating, but on a Saturday, he’d score a goal in front of the home end and just stand there.

"We never really worked out why. He could never give us an answer but he’s just different; a special player."

Topics: Manchester United, Michael Olise, Crystal Palace, Transfers, Premier League

Chris Byfield

Sport journalist with experience writing on football, rugby, boxing and the Olympics. I'm also a Crystal Palace fan. Please don't hold this against me.