2 strikers who could be a great fit for Crystal Palace
According to London News, Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson wants a double striker swoop in the January transfer window.
The Eagles have had mixed results so far this season and currently find themselves at 9th place in the league standings. They have been inconsistent throughout the campaign, where they earlier won against Manchester United and lost to teams like Sheffield United and Newcastle United.
Their recent 0-1 loss to Derby in the FA Cup third round has highlighted their inconsistency and Palace need to improve multiple areas. They have just two established full-backs, both of whom are injured.
In the attacking ranks, Palace have three strikers to lead the line with Jordan Ayew being preferred ahead of Christian Benteke and Connor Wickham. The Ghanaian has found the back of the net on only 5 occasions despite playing 20 league games and has just one assist.
Benteke had the privilege of featuring in 15 games for the South Londoners but has failed to register a single goal or assist so far. He seems to be far from his best and has admitted that he could move away from Selhurst Park in search of regular game time, which would boost his chances of earning a spot in the national team.
Another of Palace’s strikers, Connor Wickham has been frozen out by the manager. The Hereford-born forward has just played 68 minutes of football in the league. At that time, he has scored and assisted just once, thus failing to convince his boss.
Having said these, Hodgson must look to rope in reinforcements before their season could get worse for them. Hence, let’s take a look at two strikers who would perfectly suit Hodgson’s Eagles.
Olivier Giroud
Hodgson’s side have been linked with Giroud, who is unused by Frank Lampard at Stamford Bridge. He moved to Chelsea in the winter of 2018 and initially started regularly under then-manager Antonio Conte.
That changed after Lampard took over and the former Chelsea man has shown a lot of faith in the youngsters this year, leaving the Frenchman behind first-choice striker Tammy Abraham.
Therefore, it would be the right time for Palace to lure him to their side by taking advantage of the 33-year-old’s situation at Chelsea. Giroud has proven to be a goalscorer for both France and Arsenal previously.
His link-up play is highly appreciable and he could just bring that quality to Selhurst Park. He still has some more time in his career and the Eagles can make use of his talent by making him play alongside Ayew and the rest of the forwards.
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Fedor Chalov
Palace have been long-term admirers of the Russia international and also had a £14m bid rejected for him in the summer, according to Daily Mail.
The 21-year-old has scored 5 and registered 4 assists in the Russian top-flight this season and the interesting part is that he has been in scintillating form since making it through CSKA Moscow’s reserve sides.
He has the potential to become a world-class striker and he is capable of improving any team’s attack. At Palace, he would be an upgrade on their current set of attacking players and the fact that that he is young could see him settle down as a long-term prospect for the English outfit.