Chelsea still need to “clarify” an issue with Michael Olise’s release clause before they can seal the Crystal Palace winger’s signature, according to Fabrizio Romano.

Writing in his column for Caught Offside, the journalist wrote that, while the player has given the go-ahead to joining the Blues, the London club still have some work to do in order to complete the £35m transfer:

“Chelsea are also closing in on a deal for Michael Olise from Crystal Palace. They’ve triggered the release clause – there is still something to clarify with Crystal Palace in terms of the mechanism of the release clause, and then they will proceed with this signing. The player has already said yes to a long-term deal with Chelsea.”

It was reported by The Guardian journalist Ed Aarons last week that there was something “unusual” in Olise’s buyout clause. The only detail he gave was that Olise would need to approve the transfer before it was triggered.

However, as the player has already said yes to Chelsea, there must be another factor that hasn’t come out in the public domain yet.

Tapping up accusations

The complications surrounding the release clause are completely separate from other reports in the English media that claim Crystal Palace are unhappy about Chelsea’s conduct in their pursuit of Olise.

It is believed that the Eagles have even considered a formal complaint to the FA about tapping up but, so far, they have not followed through on their threat.

Chelsea will be hoping to wrap up the deal soon

It does appear to be a pretty messy situation, but the existence of the release fee means there is very little that Palace can do to stop the move.

Of course, that doesn’t prevent other interested parties, such as Manchester City, from triggering the clause as well, so Mauricio Pochettino’s side will be looking to complete this transfer as soon as possible.