Michael Olise’s younger brother, Richard, 21, is also a professional footballer and, like Michael years earlier, was released by Chelsea this summer.
After a short stint at Arsenal, Michael spent seven years in Chelsea’s academy before being let go at 14. He then joined Manchester City for a brief period, but they released him too.
That’s when Reading, then a Championship club, entered the picture.
Brendan Flanagan, Reading’s head of recruitment, says he had to work hard to convince decision-makers to sign the 16-year-old in summer 2018.
He explained that some at the club were wary because Olise had been released by both Chelsea and City, and that in football there can be biases around players with that history. What others might have seen as “problems” were simply traits—quiet, shy, reserved—that Reading felt they could support.
Flanagan worried they might lose out when Olise’s mother, Mina, said they needed time to restore his confidence after those setbacks.
She told him they would work with a mentor to make sure Michael was ready before joining. Flanagan feared that was the end of it and that the next time he saw Olise, he’d be lining up against Reading.
Four weeks later, Mina called to say Michael was ready. Flanagan praised the family’s honesty and follow-through.
Once Olise arrived, there were no issues. Flanagan says he was the best player he ever brought into the club.
Olise was so determined to be punctual that he’d sometimes turn up at 7am for a 9am session and fall asleep in his car, missing the start.
He made his Reading debut in March 2019 against Leeds at 17, just days after stepping up to first-team training, and went on to play 73 times over three seasons, scoring seven goals.
During his time there, he also received his first call-up to France’s youth teams.
Flanagan wasn’t surprised Olise chose France, noting they were the first to approach him. In England’s 2001 age group, call-ups typically came from the likes of City, Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, and Spurs—rarely from clubs like Reading. Olise, Flanagan suggested, is the type to stick with those who believed in him first.