Why Crystal Palace should have signed Kemar Roofe in the summer

Back in July, the Sky Sports had claimed that Crystal Palace were interested in signing Kemar Roofe, who was then a part of Leeds United. However, a move didn’t materialise and Leeds later sold the 26-year-old to Belgian club Anderlecht.

During the previous campaign, Leeds finished third in the Championship table, with Kemar Roofe playing a starring role up front by netting 14 goals.

The Whites wanted to hand the forward a new deal as his current contract was expiring next summer. However, the 26-year-old didn’t come to terms of a new contract and the Championship club had no option but to sell him to Anderlecht.

Having missed out on a top-half finish in the Premier League last season, Roy Hodgson added some players during the summer transfer window.

Jordan Ayew and James McCarthy cost only modest fees, while Gary Cahill and Stephen Henderson came on free transfers. Victor Camarasa has joined on a season-long loan from Real Betis and he’ll be expected to add much-needed creativity to the Palace attack.

But considering the Eagles’ shortage of goals last season, it was surprising to see Hodgson avoid refreshing his forward line.

Since the start of the 2017-18 season, Christian Benteke has scored four times in the Premier League for Palace. The Belgian striker’s form has woefully dipped over the last two years, with injuries playing a big role.

And Benteke’s struggles in front of goal coupled with Wilfried Zaha and Andros Townsend’s inconsistency, Hodgson’s side have endured another slow start to a Premier League campaign.

The south Londoners have amassed just a point from the first two games, tasting a shock 1-0 defeat at newly-promoted Sheffield United last weekend.

Kemar Roofe would have been a good fit for Palace. He led the line well for Leeds last term, impressing with his pace and movement in and around the box. The 26-year-old had some injury problems but when fit, he was a reliable goalscorer for Marcelo Bielsa’s side as he notched up 14 goals.

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A versatile forward, Roofe is tricky and unpredictable and while he didn’t have prior Premier League experience, the ex-Oxford United man would have given Palace a different attacking option.

Verdict

Crystal Palace cannot sign any players until the winter transfer window but signing free agents is a possibility. Lack of a reliable goalscorer could be a problem this term.

It will be interesting to see how the season goes for Hodgson’s team and as things stand, the Eagles have missed a trick by not signing Kemar Roofe.