Crystal Palace are preparing an ambitious move for Yaya Toure this summer, as per reports from The Sun. The former Manchester City midfielder has attracted a lot of interest from a host of clubs across England with both Palace and West Ham amongst vying for his services.
The Ivorian is currently a free agent after seeing out his contract with Premier League champions Manchester City at the end of last season. Following a hugely successful time with the Manchester giants, his exit from the club didn’t go exactly as planned with Toure, particularly infuriated with head coach Pep Guardiola for undermining his qualities.
Toure, 35, appeared in only 35 league matches under the Catalan mastermind, 25 of which came during his first season in charge of Manchester City. He totalled only 228 minutes of league action last term, ultimately forcing Toure to launch a verbal attack on the former Barcelona manager.
In fact, the 35-year-old’s controversial agent even went on to say that the player would be willing to join arch-rivals Manchester United for just £1-a-week in order to prove the Catalan wrong.
Crystal Palace, on the other hand, have had their own share of problems. Although they made a decent recovery after a horrendous start to the campaign last season, the Eagles do lack depth in the middle of the pitch.
Luka Milivojevic and James McArthur remain the only reliable options in central midfield for head coach Roy Hodgson at the moment. And even though both the midfielders have enjoyed a rather decent campaign last season, Palace could be in huge trouble should any of them suffer any injuries during the course of next season, especially with Cabaye leaving the club earlier this summer.
Thus, the addition of Yaya Toure definitely makes sense given their lack of depth in midfield. The Ivorian has a tremendous amount of experience in top-flight football, having made 230 appearances in the Premier League. He’s no stranger to success either having won three PL titles along with a Champions League trophy with Barcelona.
His wealth of experience in the centre of the pitch will be a huge boost for Crystal Palace, who are very limited in their resources in that particular area of the field.
However, it remains to be seen if the former Barcelona star will be able to perform at the top of his game considering the fact that he’s nearing the final stages of his career.
Stats Courtesy: Whoscored
