French champions Lille join the quest to sign Reading's Nigerian playmaker Michael Olise

READING midfielder Michael Olise has become the subject of increased transfer speculation following the end of the season after French champions Lille joined the growing number of clubs looking to sign him ahead of the 2021/22 campaign.

Olise, 19, a mercurial playmaker seen to have a bright future ahead of him, is eligible to play for England, France and Nigeria but he has opted for the Super Eagles. This led to Nigeria's head coach Gernot Rohr naming him on the standby list for the two African Nations qualifiers that took place in March against Benin Republic and Lesotho.

His soared by €4m overnight to €12m after he was named in the standby list for Nigeria's upcoming 2021 African Cup of Nations qualifying matches against the Republic of Benin and Lesotho. Among the clubs looking to sign Olise include Leeds United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Bayern Munich and now the newly-crowned Ligue One champions have entered the fray too.

Olise is expected leave Reading following the club's failure to secure promotion to the Premier League despite a fine start to the campaign. a versatile playmaker, he missed only two games last season, scoring seven goals and registering 12 assists spread across 3,263 minutes.