If Michael Olise captures the World Cup, a humble section of a Hayes housing estate will forever symbolize his remarkable journey. This modest green space in the west London suburb was where a young Olise devoted countless hours perfecting his football skills alongside his brother, Richard. “Football in these conditions, it’s just freedom,” Olise shared with L’Équipe last month. “It’s not really learning in the strict sense. It was simply the pleasure of playing football. I just loved it.”
Sean Conlon, one of Olise’s early coaches at Old Isleworthians, reflects fondly on those foundational years.
“I would go over to his house and he would be practising outside with Richard. That little estate probably really aided him; there weren’t a lot of cars but it had quite a lot of concrete open space and then a small green. He’d just be practising out here all the time, obsessed with football.”
A decade later, Olise found himself at Reading after being overlooked by both Chelsea and Manchester City academies. Brendan Flanagan, the scout responsible for bringing him to the Championship club, recalls a defining match.
“We were playing Sparta Prague in the European Under-21 Cup,” Flanagan recounts. “I got there at half‑time. Michael was about 17 and on the bench. I sat in front of [the former Crystal Palace and West Ham player] Hayden Mullins, who used to work for us and who I got on well with. Michael came on with 17 minutes to go. Within five minutes Hayden leaned over to me and said: ‘Who the fuck is that?!’ I just started laughing. And Hayden said: ‘Come on then, tell me, where did you find this one?’ So I explained the story …”
This account not only reveals how Chelsea and City let one of the standout talents of the World Cup slip through their fingers but also underscores why he has yet to don the England jersey, despite being born there and developing through the English system.
“When I first saw him play for Hayes when he was six what stood out was his physical movement,” Conlon recalls. “He glides around the pitch: very graceful, perfect coordination, everything effortless. The way he moves today was how he moved when he was six. That’s something he’s been born with. People say he’s the best player England has ever developed.”
Having had a stint coaching at Chelsea, Conlon saw Olise join their academy at the age of nine. His extraordinary talent soon attracted interest from Manchester City, where he was in the same age group as Cole Palmer and a year behind Phil Foden. However, City released him at 16, leading him back to Conlon, who oversees an academy known as We Make Footballers. Olise was then on the lookout for a professional club until Flanagan’s contact recommended him.
“There was a lot of scepticism from various members of staff at Reading that he would be a bad egg,” Flanagan explains. “[They said]: ‘He’s been released by Chelsea, by Man City. We shouldn’t be bringing him in. He’ll be a problem.’ I said: ‘Look, let’s just get the kid in and make our decision.’”
Conlon concurs. “All the other scouts were: ‘He’s just come out of Manchester City, he’s just come out of Chelsea, why have they not kept him on?’ They were half and half. They could see him and say: ‘Why are we not taking this talent?’ But Reading were the ones that committed.”
Despite living in London, Olise had to travel to Reading for training. The club arranged a shuttle bus to transport the London trainees from the station to the training ground. “On his first day I got a call from him at the station and he was asking: ‘Where do I need to pick the bus up please?’” Flanagan recalls. “I directed him to the shuttle bus but everything was “I directed him to the shuttle bus but everything was ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ and I thought to myself: ‘This ain’t a bad kid. He’s just a kid who’s a bit misunderstood, different.’ “And we never had a problem with him. He wasn’t ever a bad lad. He was always an intelligent, quiet lad who just expressed himself a bit differently. What wasn’t right for them [City and Chelsea]… well, we’re just little old Reading down the M4. We can work with these kids.” and “He was absolutely unbelievable that day,” and I thought to myself: “Hayden and I shook hands at the end and said: ‘This kid will play for the first team by the end of the season.’”t a bad kid. He’s just a kid who’s a bit misunderstood, different.’
“That Saturday he was on the bench and he made his debut soon after. The manager obviously saw him and thought: ‘Oh my God! This kid is unbelievable.’”
Olise quickly progressed to Reading’s under-21s, where Flanagan and Mullins witnessed him excel against Sparta Prague. “I actually come from four countries,” Flanagan remembers. “France, Algeria, Nigeria and Great Britain. I consider myself very lucky to possess these four parts, which all enrich me. I’ve developed attachments in all my countries. When I was growing up in London, we regularly visited Algeria, Nigeria and France. My dad always spoke English with me at home, my mum, French.”
Shortly thereafter, he was invited to join the first-team training by then-manager José Gomes. “We weren’t as attractive a club,”
Although he achieved considerable success, England never reached out to him. Olise values his diverse heritage, with his mother Mina being French Algerian and his father Vincent British Nigerian. “It’s slightly changed now but back then, for England, generally, you had to come from Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Arsenal. France reached out to us and we spoke to Michael. I think they were given information that there was a French connection. They were the first one who selected him [for the under-18s] and, even though England came in for him for the under-20s, he was happy where he was.” he stated to the Bayern Munich website last season. “Could I see he would reach the levels that he’s reached?”
He remained off England’s radar during his teenage years. “I don’t think anyone could. Some kids do look like they might be a Ballon d’Or contender at 16 and then kind of level out. But Michael was on a trajectory that went up and up and up and he still hasn’t levelled off. He just seems to be getting better and better. He’s always had a picture in his head, saw things quicker than anyone else and had the ability to find a way to make the pass. But he’s just gone to another level.” Flanagan explains. “With the under-eights, we say to the kids: ‘One day you’re going to win the World Cup. One day you’re going to win the Champions League. This is why you have to have these standards.’ You preach it and now we’ve actually had someone go and do it.”
At that time, England was benefiting from a golden generation of talent, strengthened by the reform of club academies that began in 2012, which now underpins the national team. Within his immediate age group were Palmer, Bukayo Saka, Morgan Rogers, Anthony Gordon, and Noni Madueke, along with Jude Bellingham and Germany’s Jamal Musiala, who were a year below him at Chelsea. Premier League academies have nurtured players on a global scale, creating frustration for the Football Association that the most creative player in the World Cup was born in England but is now representing France. Olise has recorded five assists, more than anyone else in the tournament.
“I’m going to be sat on the fence,” Flanagan questions. “Obviously I want Michael to do well. But obviously I want England to win as well. So I probably won’t watch the game and stay out of the way.”
“It’s crazy,” Conlon remarks. “With the under-eights, we say to the kids: ‘One day you’re going to win the World Cup. One day you’re going to win the Champions League. This is why you have to have these standards.’ You preach it and now we’ve actually had someone go and do it.”
This situation presents a small dilemma for Olise’s childhood mentors. What happens if England faces France in the World Cup final? “I’m going to be sat on the fence,” Flanagan admits. “Obviously I want Michael to do well. But obviously I want England to win as well. So I probably won’t watch the game and stay out of the way.”
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