Crystal Palace are short of options in midfield after the departure of Yohan Cabaye and Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Cabaye joined UAE club, Al Nasr after his contract with the Eagles expired on the 1st of July while Loftus-Cheek, who was their best player last season after Wilfred Zaha, is back at Chelsea after the conclusion of his loan spell at Selhurst Park.
Both of them were regular starters for the Eagles and Roy Hodgson needs to bring in recruitments to fill in their boots.
AS Roma midfielder, Maxime Gonalons is one of the players Palace are looking to sign. Reports indicate that Palace have placed a bid of €10m for the French midfielder.
Gonalons joined Roma during the last summer window after spending his entire career with the French club, Olympique Lyon. His stay at Roma did not go as planned as he failed to displace Daniele De Rossi, Kevin Strootman or Radja Naigolan from the starting XI.
Even with three years left in his contract, the Seria A side are looking to sell the midfielder after signing Javier Pastore and Bryan Cristante in this transfer window.
Gonalons – Stats
During his first season in Italy, Gonalons made only 16 appearances for Roma and played just over 1000 minutes. He registered only one assist and had a passing accuracy of 87%.
Overall, Gonalons has played over 350 games in his career which speak volumes about his ability and experience. He has also made eight international outings for France.
What will Maxime Gonalons add to Crystal Palace?
Gonalons is a very solid midfielder. He is very strong in aerial duels and always likes to sit deep in the midfield to thwart attacks. Crystal Palace need to find a sound replacement for Yohan Cabaye.
Gonalons has a wealth of experience which can add the quality to Palace’s midfield. He is a good passer of the ball and likes to launch long passes to initiate attacks.
The only quality he lacks is speed but his intelligent positioning skills can help him not to get exposed.
Worth the money?
A reported price of €10m is a great price for Crystal Palace to get their man. Today’s transfer window is pretty inflated, so the Eagles will be getting a 29-year old midfielder who has an abundance of experience for a fairly low price.
Stats Courtesy: Whoscored
