Ever since Roy Hodgson took over at Crystal Palace, their fortunes have changed from a relegation scrapping side to one challenging for a mid-table finish. The former English national team boss has been able to orchestrate a remarkable turnaround at Palace.
Hodgson’s side have won their last two league games, which were against Southampton and Burnley and have looked pretty confident in their recent outings. The Eagles are currently placed 12th in the league standings with 25 points from 23 games. However, it is important for them to not get carried away by their recent performances and keep their momentum intact.
The January transfer window is open and Hodgson must add a few fresh faces so that Palace avoid another bad phase and the subsequent slide down the table. As per one of the latest reports by The Sun, the Eagles have put Ipswich Town custodian, Bartosz Bialkowski, on their radar and are keen to lure him to Selhurst Park this month to enhance the quality of their goalkeeping slot.
Who is Bialkowski?
Bialkowski has plenty of experience in English football, having plied his trade for the likes of Southampton, Barnsley and Notts County, apart from Ipswich Town of course. He has been a dependable player for the Tractor Boys and has made more than a century of appearances for his current club after joining them from Southampton in the summer of 2014.
So far this season, the 30-year-old shot-stopper has mustered 7 clean sheets in 26 appearances in the Championship and has made 2.73 saves per game on an average. He has been really impressive and no wonder he is on Hodgson’s wish list. Palace have shuffled between Julian Speroni and Wayne Hennessey, but Bialkowski could challenge them both for the no. 1 spot considering how well he has done in the Championship.
His contract at the Portman Road expires at the end of the season, so Crystal Palace could pay £3.5million to get the deal done. Ipswich Town, however, are reluctant to lose him for anything less than £4million, which might be an issue. The Premier League outfit are in talks to sign him though, and it would be intriguing to see where this transfer speculation goes from here onwards.
Palace perhaps need more outfield players, but if they get a good keeper for a cheap fee, then why not go ahead and add more steel to the squad?
Statistics Credits: WhoScored
