‘Special talent’ – Crystal Palace boss Vieira has big praise for summer signing

Crystal Palace head coach Patrick Vieira has described summer signing Michael Olise as a “special talent” – but insists that the 19-year-old will need time to adjust to the Premier League.

Olise was Vieira’s first summer arrival, penning a five-year deal at Selhurst Park after the Eagles triggered the £8million buyout clause in his Reading contract.

Olise shone in the Championship last season, scoring seven goals and contributing 12 assists for Reading, which saw him pick up the EFL Young Player of the Season at the end of the campaign.

Speaking on Olise, who will be involved in tomorrow’s game against Tottenham Hostpur after missing the start of the season due to a back injury, Vieira said: “He’s an interesting talent. He’s really good technically. He’s really good on the one-on-one – a left-footed player who is really composed on the ball.

“He can score. He can create something. He’s quite a creative player; he’s a winger who likes to come inside to link with the players. He’s a really good talent – a really special talent.

“We know at the same time that talent is not enough. He will need to express that talent around a collective that we are putting in place to allow him to express himself. But he is a really exciting young player.”

When asked if patience is required while Olise adapts to the top-flight, Vieira said: “Of course. He will need a lot of time to keep developing himself. He did really well in the Championship, but the Premier League is a different level. He will need to adapt himself. He will need time to understand the level.

“As a football club, as a manager, we will give him the time and we will give him the support that he needs to keep developing himself.”

The South Londoners attempted to acquire Olise’s services last winter under Roy Hodgson, but the youngster chose to see out the season with Reading in the Championship.

Speaking on what swayed Olise’s decision to join the Eagles this summer, Vieira said: “The project that the football club has in place. The way that the club will allow him to express himself in the Premier League. What we have in the club will allow him to progress, and obviously, the playing time is something really important for those young players.

“Putting everything together, I think that this is the right place for him to keep developing himself and to become in the near future a Premier League player.”

Questioned on whether Olise could use Eberechi Eze as an example of a young player from the Championship who seamlessly fitted into life at Selhurst Park, Vieira said: “That is the perfect example that he can use, and that will help him to understand the level that he has to go to. Eze will be a really good help for him as a mentor to make him understand the stage that he has to go through and to help establish himself as a Premier League player.”