Crystal Palace have a strong reputation for signing exciting prospects and developing them into Europe’s best players. Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise are prime examples of this, arriving as youngsters with obvious potential and becoming two of the Premier League’s most highly-regarded attackers.
The Eagles were fortunate to land the attacking duo, and both lit up Selhurst Park during their respective spells at the club. Eze wrote his name in the club’s history books when he scored the winner in a 1-0 FA Cup final win over Manchester City.
Eze and Olise’s spells as Palace players nearly didn’t happen as both were scouted by their London rivals. They could have ended up at Brentford, which has similarly become a conveyor belt for unearthing gems.
Palace beat the Bees
Brentford owner Matthew Benham and his scouting team have discovered the likes of Bryan Mbeumo, Ivan Toney and Ollie Watkins. The Bees are now a fully established Premier League team and are even toying with the prospect of European qualification this season.
Benham has revealed how close the west London outfit came to signing Eze and Olise. He said during a MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in Boston:
“There’s always going to be ones you regret.”I was saying before that we could have signed Eze for £4m I think in 2019.”
Eze was at Queens Park Rangers at the time, after spending time in their youth academy. He ended up at Palace a year later when he headed to Selhurst Park for £17m at the age of 22.
Benham added: “Michael Olise, his scouting was unbelievable, out of this world but we just got promoted and we weren’t used to the crazy agent fees in the Premier League at the time.”
Olise instead arrived at Palace from Reading in the summer of 2021 for £8m. He was 19 at the time and had spent time in Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City’s academies.
Neither of them is still with the South Londoners, having left in the past two summer transfer windows. But they are undoubtedly two of the greatest attackers to have graced Selhurst Park.
Parish feared losing Eze and Olise
It felt inevitable that Eze and Olise wouldn’t see out their careers at Palace given their stunning performances. Whenever one of the Premier League’s ‘big six’ were eyeing an attacking acquisition, the Eagles duo were often linked.
Olise was the first to depart when Bayern Munich paid £50.7m to take him to the Allianz Arena in July 2024. The 24-year-old has been sensational, posting 10 goals and 18 assists in 23 Bundesliga games this season.
Steve Parish spoke after the 2024 summer transfer window closed and admitted he was surprised to keep Eze. He told Sky Sports:
“I was really worried from a club point of view of losing Michael and Ebs in the same window. We didn’t have in Ebs the interest that I thought we would have. I was astounded. Genuinely astounded. I mean, the guy’s just an outstanding footballer, an outstanding person. He’s a gift to any football club.”
Interest in Eze grew after those comments and he put himself in the shop window with superb showings in the 2024-25 campaign. Arsenal came calling in August 2025, hijacking Tottenham Hostpur’s move for the 27-year-old and agreeing on a £67.5m deal.
Parish added:
“I don’t think any Crystal Palace supporter would mind the fact that at some point Ebs wants to play at the highest level. He’s playing regularly for England, back in the squad again which we’re so proud about.”
Eze has made a bright start with the Gunners, albeit not as impactful as Olise in Munich. He has appeared 25 times in the league, registering six goals and two assists.
