Crystal Palace and Birmingham Want Basel Winger Philip Olete

Basel winger Philip Otele is drawing interest from Crystal Palace and Birmingham City ahead of the January transfer window, GMS can reveal.

The 26-year-old already has eight goals and three assists in 26 appearances this season and was the subject of summer interest from Fulham. Sevilla, Stuttgart, Nice, Borussia Monchengladbach also have Otele on their radar.

GMS understands Otele is keen on a move to England and is likely to be available in the winter 2026 transfer window for a fee in the region of €8m-€10m.

Otele Has Been Outstanding in 2025

Otele’s 19 goals and eight assists in 47 appearances across all competitions in 2025 shows the impact made at Basel over the last calendar year.

And his form seemingly warrants a place in Nigeria’s squad for the Africa Cup of Nations. He made Eric Chelle’s provisional 54-man squad and is now waiting to discover if he has made the team for the tournament in Morocco. Nigeria face Tanzania, Tunisa and Uganda in the group stage.

Otele – described as ‘incredibe’ by his former manager Adrian Mutu – is predominantly a left-winger, but can switch sides or even lead the line due to his impressive numbers.

Fulham sent scouts and members from their ownership team to watch Otele closely when Basel played Copenhagen in a Champions League qualifier over the summer. In the end, the Cottagers decided against making a move instead adding Kevin and Samuel Chukwueze and making a late and ultimately failed attempt to sign Chelsea’s Tyrique George.

Crystal Palace Could Make Otele Premier League Offer

Crystal Palace could now offer Otele the chance to play in the Premier League as they look to back Oliver Glasner with attacking reinforcements in January.

The Eagles are also exploring a new number nine, which could become more of a priority if Jean-Philippe Mateta departs over the summer. Palace would like Mateta to sign a new deal, but GMS understands he is tempted by a move to Serie A, with Milan one of the interested clubs.

Consideration for a move to the Championship is possible, too, especially if a club in England’s second-tier pushing for promotion at the halfway stage of the season.

Basel only signed Otele from Al-Wahda in January on an initial loan with option to buy. They subsequently made the deal permanent over the summer for around €3.3m and are open to a sale in 2026 providing they get around double what they paid or more.