Crystal Palace opinion: Should the Eagles sign Lucas Verissimo?
According to TuttomercatoWeb, Crystal Palace are very keen on a move for Brazilian star Lucas Verissimo. The Eagles are looking for defensive reinforcements and believe that the Santos FC star is just the man to help them with that cause.
That was amongst the many reasons why the club did struggle for most of last season. While Crystal Palace did eventually get things across the board, they suffered for a long time before the January window arrived. It was only after the arrival of Michy Batshuayi on loan did things change.
He proved to be the catalyst that the club needed and injected hope into their performances. However, their defence remained miserable, with the club conceding 18 goals after January, with 8 coming in their last five games.
It showed more than anything that if the Eagles are to survive this season, then they’ll need a few defensive additions to go with any offensive ones. The likes of Mamadou Sakho, James Tomkins, Scott Dann or Jairo Riedewald didn’t manage to do anything.
In fact, manager Roy Hodgson’s first-team centre-back pairing was Tomkins and Sakho, with the two never on the same page. That was the problem last term and it shocked a few, to say the least. Things need to change and adding someone just like Lucas Verissimo will help the Eagles’ cause.
The 23-year-old often belies his age, flourishing as a centre-back, thanks to a rather impressive blend of speed, aggressive instincts and a defensive maturity that Palace need.
His sheer speed and strength have made a massive difference for Santos over the last few years, with him playing consistently for the club.
Of course, there are a lot of areas that the young defender can improve in but he is just 23 years old and time will iron out a few issues. Despite that, Verissimo is miles ahead of what James Tomkins or even Mamadou Sakho was at his age, and he has yet to reach his full potential.
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Conclusion
While they may have survived the Premier League this season, things will most likely be very different next season for Crystal Palace. The Eagles need a lot of new additions and with time, maybe Lucas Verissimo can make the impact that the club needs him to.