Olise’s younger brother Richard, 21, is also a professional footballer, although he was released by Chelsea this summer – just like Michael was released ten years ago.
After a brief spell at Arsenal, Olise spent seven years in the Chelsea academy before being released at the age of 14. He then spent a short time at Manchester City, but was also released.
Enter Reading, then the Championship.
However, Brendan Flanagan, the club’s head of recruitment, said he had to persuade bosses to bring in the 16-year-old in the summer of 2018.
“Because of the prejudices that are prevalent in football, it took me a little longer to convince the people in the building to take him because (he) was released from Chelsea, released from Manchester City – some people will understand that because it will be a big problem,” he told the BBC.
“You would think Michael is problematic in other clubs because he’s quiet, shy, reserved, but we can work with these kids because it doesn’t make them bad kids, it just makes them a little different.”
But Flanagan feared the Royals would miss the game when Olise’s mother said they needed some time to rebuild his confidence after the setbacks.
“She said we’re going to work with a mentor because he obviously has a low level of trust – he was sacked by Chelsea, he was sacked by Manchester City – and we just want to make sure that when he comes to you, he’s ready for you,” Flanagan added.
“I thought to myself, ‘That’s it, the next time I see him he’ll be playing against us somewhere.’
“Four weeks later Mina called me and said we were ready to go. She kept her word – they are such people, honest, sincere people.
“He came and we never had any problems with him. He was, without a shadow of a doubt, the best player I ever bought in this building.”
Olise was so eager to arrive at training on time that he sometimes missed the start.
“He would show up at 7 a.m. for practice that started at 9, and he would sleep in his car when practice started,” Flanagan said.
Olise made his Reading debut in March 2019 against Leeds aged 17 – days after joining first-team training – and went on to make 73 appearances, scoring seven goals, over three seasons.
There he was called up to the French youth team.
“It’s not surprising that he chose France for me because they were the first to contact him,” Flanagan added.
“In that 2001 England group they tended to come from Manchester City, Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, Spurs – not too many players like Reading.
“Michael would be one of those people who says, ‘Well, they picked me first, you didn’t want me when I was younger, so I’m going to go there.’