How Michael Olise transfer can unleash dream Chelsea attack with Cole Palmer and Nkunku plan

Perhaps Cole Palmer is the only person who expected himself to score more goals than Christopher Nkunku and Michael Olise last season. Due to injuries to the two French forwards and the meteoric rise of Palmer in his first year at Chelsea, it was he who took all the plaudits.

Nkunku was up there with the top picks to win the Golden Boot despite Erling Haaland's presence. Olise was close to completing a transfer to Stamford Bridge before Palmer was even on the public radar as a target for Chelsea. After 11 assists in his second full season in the top flight, he was tipped to have a true breakthrough year.

As it happened, everyone was impressed in their own way. Palmer, obviously, was stunned and dazzled with his form. He demonstrated just why the levels of confidence in his own ability were sky-high.

Olise managed to score 10 and assist six in just half the games, establishing himself as a genuine star across the league and someone undoubtedly ready for another step up. Even Nkunku, in what was an extremely frustrating season, scored three in a short period of time and offered glimpses to suggest that forgetting about his quality would be unwise.

The full pre-season for Nkunku and Palmer under new manager Enzo Maresca is one of the reasons that Chelsea remains an attractive job despite the nature of the managerial and overall change from top to bottom. There are players with incredible ability at the club, and most head coaches would be licking their lips at the chance, even if the squad building is still questionable.

So why are Chelsea still looking at Olise? They already possess one of the top-performing attackers, let alone making it specific to left-footed right-wingers that can play as a No.10. Palmer is not being displaced in the Chelsea team anytime soon, even with a likely new role under Maresca. What is the need for Olise?

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Maybe the question is not about need or want, but just opportunity. At £60million, as he is available for this summer, Olise is relatively cheap and going on the market. Chelsea spent £45million to get Palmer 12 months ago, and he had hardly started a Premier League game, let alone have the impact Olise has at Palace.

Compare the price to Jarrad Branthwaite at Everton (£75milion) or even the numbers Chelsea themselves have been after in recent times. £50million for Armando Broja at one stage; they got back over £50million for Mason Mount, and that could rise.

Olise is not just a talent beyond any of these players, even if totally different in style, but he is also in form. He is proven in the Premier League, and he does actually fit.

Take the 3-2-5 in-possession shape that Maresca steadfastly commits to, and Olise is a shoo-in across most of the front positions. He can be just as much the right winger as the No.10 in the on-paper 4-3-3 as he can be the slightly deeper midfielder too. Palmer's ability to come in central also helps with this.

In the final five weeks of last season under Mauricio Pochettino, he was granted more freedom than ever to basically do as he pleases. Given a winger (often Noni Madueke) on his right and the cover of Conor Gallagher with Moises Caicedo behind, Palmer could float and find pockets. It will be this role that he can take on, should Olise join.

Then there is Nkunku. What is this output demon that manages to contribute no matter the circumstances? Signed to be the pillar for this new Chelsea team, but now without a defined role. Finding that will be one of Maresca's biggest challenges in the summer to come.

The beauty of Nkunku is that he's a plug-and-play forward. He doesn't actually need a position named after him or a repeatable bunch of instructions because Nkunku can adapt.

He is the left winger who comes inside and joins up the layers between players, starting the passing sequences or finishing them off. He is the passer before the assist, twisting his feet into shapes they shouldn't be able to make in order to lay-off the ball. He is the connecting dot for all parts of an attack, whether they are functioning or not.

Start him nominally on the left, and he could be there as an effective winger, outside No.10, or striker who roams. He can be the centre-forward to pop and go; there is enough there to basically do whatever is needed.

Maybe in principle it is best for him to be central or slightly to the left, but that doesn't mean if he needs to be 10 metres to the left for positional solidity, he can't impact the game nonetheless. He is going to be as far removed from Olise and Palmer on the right in reality, but watching them all drift and combine would quickly subvert questions over where they all fit.

The real dilemma here is how this trio of attackers - plus the likely inclusion of Nicolas Jackson - balances with what goes on behind. Maresca ideally has a full-back inverting into midfield, with the other slotting in to form a back-three on the ball. Given the profile of players who have been in the pivot, there are some more important calls to make there.

What is clear is that simply having Olise, Palmer, and Nkunku in a team is certainly not unworkable. The task is to arrange the pawns around that group so their magic can flourish.