Crystal Palace haven’t had the best of starts this season, winning only once in the Premier League and sitting in 15^th place in the table, just two points above the drop zone.

There were hopes that manager Patrick Vieira could kick on from a strong debut campaign last season as he led the side to a 12^th place finish and to the semi-finals of the FA Cup, where they were defeated by Chelsea 2-0.

Despite this excellent start to life as a Premier League boss, Vieira’s finest decision was to sign Reading forward Michael Olise for a fee of just £8m, and it looks like the Frenchman has struck gold,

Olise can be the future for Palace

Olise was eased into life at Palace last season, starting 12 Premier League matches and appearing in 26 in total, averaging a SofaScore rating of 6.91.

Compared to positional peers over the last year in Europe’s top five leagues as per FBref, Olise significantly impressed and showed he has what it takes to make it to the very top.

The 20-year-old ranked in the 89^th percentile for assists (0.35 per match), 95^th percentile for progressive carries (9.95), and in the 87^th percentile for progressive passes (5.11) proving he is constantly driving forward to support his attacking teammates and looks to create chances for others at every opportunity.

Defensively, Olise was ranked in the 92^nd percentile for tackles (2.17) and the 90^th percentile for blocks (1.75) suggesting he can contribute positively when his side are on the back foot.

Following these performances in the Premier League, he is worth over three times as much as Palace paid for him, with the CIES Football Observatory valuing the midfielder at €30m (£26.2m) and if he keeps impressing under Vieira, there is no reason to believe this is the limit.

Harry Pinero lavished praise on the player last season, saying “Olise is cold, that left foot is special” and he can certainly be the future at Palace, although with his game improving every day, Vieira might find it difficult to keep him long term.