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Topics: Michael Olise, Crystal Palace, France, England, Nigeria, Africa Cup Of Nations, Euro 2024
Jack Kenmare
Topics: Michael Olise, Crystal Palace, France, England, Nigeria, Africa Cup Of Nations, Euro 2024
He may not have earned a call-up to play for France at Euro 2024 but Michael Olise remains eligible to represent three other countries at international level.
The 22-year-old has enjoyed arguably the best season of his career to date, notching 10 goals and five assists in just 18 Premier League matches for Crystal Palace.
As a result of his fine form, many tipped Olise to play for Les Blues at this summer's European Championship in Germany.
But the winger was overlooked by manager Didier Deschamps, who opted for the likes of Kingsley Coman, Bradley Barcola, Marcus Thuram and Ousmane Dembele.
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It was a decision that sparked plenty of reaction online. In fact, fans from Nigeria, Algeria and England urged Olise to switch international allegiance after being snubbed by France.
Olise, who has represented France at under-18 and under-21 level, is still able to play for England, Nigeria and Algeria. He was born in London to a Nigerian father and French-Algerian mother.
Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate tried to convince the Crystal Palace winger to switch international allegiance in 2022, according to the Daily Mail.
The FA even held talks with the player but it was said he was "leaning towards" staying with France.
Olise was also named on the standby list by Nigeria for two Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches in 2021 – when he was playing in the Championship for Reading – but did not join up with the squad.
Olise certainly has plenty of admirers, including Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner, who described the winger as “brilliant” after their 3-1 win against Wolves.
“I think everybody knows he’s a good player," Glasner said in his post-match press conference.
“He’s fit now, I also think we found a very good position for him and he has a lot of individual qualities. He is a brilliant player, a great guy, but he also benefits from other players.
“Michael is brilliant, Ebs (Eze) is brilliant, Dean (Henderson) was brilliant, Joel (Ward) was brilliant. I could tell you all the players, because otherwise we wouldn’t have won here.”