According to Mirror, Crystal Palace have reignited their interest in Khouma Babacar. The Senegalese forward just moved to Sassuolo a couple of weeks ago from Fiorentina following an impressive loan spell last season but has been a subject of some keen interest from the Premier League outfit.
In fact, the source claims that the Eagles are confident of landing Babacar for £12m as they aim to hand Sassoulo a quick profit in exchange of the Senegal striker. The Italian club permanently secured his services for a fee of £8.10m, meaning they could easily pocket almost £4 million profit, should they opt to let go of their new signing this summer.
Babacar, 25, played his entire career at Fiorentina, barring a few loan spells at Modena, Padova and Racing Santander, before sealing a move to Sassuolo this summer. During his time with the Italian giants, the striker scored 39 goals in 128 matches.
Despite his rather impressive statistics, however, the Senegalese striker has often failed to become a consistent goalscorer, which initially forced Fiorentina to loan him out to Neroverdi earlier this year. And even though he managed to score just two goals in 13 games for Sassuolo, Babacar was a great inclusion in their attacking department, which ultimately convinced the club to sign him permanently this summer.
Crystal Palace, on the other hand, have struggled with their offensive department last season. Star striker Christian Benteke, managed to score only three goals last term while new signing Alexander Sorloth failed to find the back of the net. In addition, Connor Wickham’s progress at Palace has been marred with injuries, leaving the Premier League outfit searching for a proper alternative in the market.
In fact, Serbian midfielder Luka Milivojevic was their only player to reach double figures last season, which is definitely unacceptable, especially in the English top flight.
Khouma Babacar, therefore, could be an ideal addition to the club bearing in mind that the 25-year-old has the right attributes to thrive in the Premier League. As iterated earlier, he was a useful component in Sassuolo’s attacking department despite scoring just two goals and Palace will be hoping that the Senegalese will be able to provide the same next season.
However, it remains to be seen whether the Italian outfit agrees to sell their star striker this summer. Either way, Palace need reinforcements and if not Babacar, they need to move on to their next target.
Stats Courtesy: Whoscored
