Crystal Palace have joined the race to sign Genoa striker Christian Kouame; it has been claimed.
According to Calciomercato(via Football London), the Eagles are eyeing a move for Kouame, who has impressed the onlookers of the Serie A with his all-round play, notably attracting the interest of league leaders Juventus.
It is believed that the Ivorian international could cost around €25 million while Palace will also have to ward off interest from the likes of Juventus and Roma.
Christian Kouame: An ideal player for Palace
Crystal Palace will certainly look to bring in attacking reinforcements in the summer following an injury-ravaged campaign for their main strikers.
While the return of Christian Benteke has served as a blessing for head coach Roy Hodgson, new loan-arrival Michy Batshuayi has failed to make any notable impact and has mostly operated as a second fiddle to Benteke. Even though he will get time to settle and might put in important contributions still, being on-loan from Chelsea does bring about a different set of uncertainty regarding one’s future.
The Eagles have continued to rely on the services of Wilfried Zaha in terms of attacking productivity. Therefore, the addition of a new attacker could be imperative.
Kouame, in that regard, would be an excellent choice for Palace as the Ivorian international is blessed with a certain set of traits that could help him thrive at Selhurst Park.
For one, the 21-year-old is a physically astute forward, who isn’t shy to get involved in physical duels as well as aerial challenges. As a matter of fact, he has won as many as five aerial duels per game this season, which is significantly more than anyone else in the team.
He is also a hard-working team player, who likes to put pressure on the defenders while linking up with his teammates in the final third. The former Cagliari forward is willing to track back to help out the midfielders during the defensive phases, something which we seldom see from Palace’s strikers.
His partnership with Krzystof Piatek during the first half of the campaign was the main source of Genoa’s creativity and the fact that the Ivorian has already registered four assists in the league this season is indicative of the creative nature in his overall gameplay.
This could potentially be an asset at Crystal Palace, who have often resorted to pinging crosses into the box as a Plan B and Kouame can help Hodgson vary his tactics according to the requirements of the match.
All things considered, Kouame will be an excellent addition to Palace as they aim to push for a higher placed finish in the league next season.
Stat courtesy: Whoscored
