Olise’s younger brother Richard, 21, is a professional footballer as well, though Chelsea released him this summer, much as they had done with Michael ten years earlier.
After a brief period at Arsenal, Olise spent seven years in Chelsea’s academy before leaving at 14. A short stint with Manchester City followed, but he was eventually released by them too.
His next opportunity came at Reading, who were competing in the Championship at the time.
Brendan Flanagan, the club’s recruitment chief, later revealed that he had to convince senior figures to sign the 16-year-old during the summer of 2018.
Flanagan explained that football’s assumptions made the process more difficult. Since Olise had already been released by Chelsea and Manchester City, some people feared that bringing him in could create problems.
He added that Olise’s quiet, shy and reserved personality may have been misunderstood by his former clubs. Reading believed those qualities did not reflect poor character, but simply showed that he needed a different kind of support.
Flanagan initially feared Reading might lose the chance to sign Olise when the player’s mother asked for time to help restore his confidence after those disappointments.
According to Flanagan, she wanted Olise to work with a mentor because being released by two major clubs had affected his self-belief. Her aim was to ensure he felt fully prepared before joining Reading.
Flanagan assumed the opportunity had disappeared and expected the youngster would eventually return as an opponent with another team.
Four weeks later, Mina contacted him and confirmed they were ready to proceed. Flanagan praised the family for keeping their promise and described them as sincere and trustworthy people.
Once Olise arrived, he caused no difficulties whatsoever. Flanagan regarded him as unquestionably the finest player he had ever recruited for the club.
Olise was so determined not to be late for practice that his early arrival occasionally led to him missing the opening minutes.
Flanagan recalled that Olise sometimes reached the training ground at 7am, two hours before the session, then fell asleep in his car and remained there when practice began.
Only days after beginning first-team training, Olise made his Reading debut against Leeds in March 2019 at the age of 17. Across three seasons, he played 73 matches and scored seven goals.
His performances there also earned him an invitation to join France’s youth international setup.
Flanagan said Olise’s decision to represent France did not surprise him because the French setup had contacted the player before anyone else.
He noted that England’s 2001 age group was largely drawn from Manchester City, Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham, with comparatively few players selected from clubs such as Reading.
Flanagan believed Olise’s view was straightforward: France approached him first, while others had overlooked him earlier in his career, so he chose the country that showed faith in him.
What do you feel about this post?
Like
Love
Happy
Haha
Sad
