England, Nigeria battle France for Olise
Gareth Southgate has discussed the potential of Crystal Palace forward Michael Olise changing national team loyalties to England after being snubbed by France.
Olise has been one of Palace’s stars of the season and was widely tipped to be named in France’s European Championship squad but was ignored by coach Didier Deschamps.
The 22-year-old has previously starred for Les Blues at Under-18 and Under-21 levels but is yet to make a first senior call-up and meaning he could still change national allegiances.
A similar situation previously saw Jamal Musiala decide to represent Germany despite being a regular in England’s youth set-up.
Olise has the option of picking from four different nations after being born in London to a Nigerian father and a French-Algerian mother.
Gareth Southgate has discussed the potential of Crystal Palace forward Michael Olise (pictured) changing national team loyalties to England
On Tuesday, Southgate named his provisional 33-man squad for the upcoming European Championship in Germany that will later be cut to just 26 players and was asked about Olise’s current position.
The England manager heaped praise on the Crystal Palace star while announcing his squad and explained what would need to happen for him to become a future England player.
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‘He would have to have a transfer of association. That process would take quite a while,’ he said.
‘He is obviously a very good player, he hasn’t made their squad. They might be taking him to the Olympics, I don’t know.
‘He is a player we should have an interest in because he is a very good player but there is no way you could do all of that in time for the Euros.’
Olise enjoyed a strong finish to the Premier League campaign to end the season with 10 goals in just 19 appearances after battling back from injuries earlier in the campaign.
His performances under new Eagles boss Oliver Glasner helped Palace secure their status in the English top-flight as he scored four goals – including a brace against Man United – in the final six games of the season.
Meanwhile, four of his Palace team-mates were picked by Southgate as Eberechi Eze, Dean Henderson and Marc Guehi continue to cement their places in the Three Lions and Adam Wharton was rewarded with a first senior call-up.