Steve Parish: Dougie Freedman worked wonders to bring Michael Olise to Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish reckons Dougie Freedman deserves a lot of credit for the signing of Michael Olise.

The midfielder, 19, became Patrick Vieira’s first signing since being appointed the new Eagles manager this month. He signed a five-year deal at Selhurst Park.

Speaking to Palace TV, Parish said: “Dougie Freedman has done an incredible amount of work over the last 15 to 18 months.

“Obviously this situation we planned for, we knew we would have spaces in the squad.

“Dougie and his team have to take huge credit for bringing Michael to the club because there was a lot of competition for him.

“Identifying talent is one thing, but recruiting talent into the club is quite another.

“Obviously having spaces available for players to play is very important, but it’s saying the right things.

“Patrick was there at the end, as well, and was able to lend his considerable presence and experience to Michael. But Dougie’s really got to take all the credit for that one, he’s done a huge amount of work and hopefully it’s a sign of things to come.”

Picture: Seb Frej/cpfc.co.uk