Why Crystal Palace must beat West Ham United to sign Ibrahim Amadou from Lille
Crystal Palace and West Ham United were both interested in a January move for £2.25m-rated Lille midfielder Ibrahim Amadou but neither of these deals materialised. However, with the summer transfer window coming up, they could revive their interest in him.
Now, a lot has changed since then for both these clubs. Palace are back struggling and are living dangerously close to the relegation zone, whereas West Ham are in the 16th spot in the league standings.
Given the amount of intense competition this season, it remains to be seen who survives relegation and who does not. In addition to that, there has also been speculation suggesting that the Hammers might look for a new manager to replace David Moyes, who was appointed in charge after Slaven Bilic’s sacking.
Hence, whether or not these clubs make a move for Amadou depends on a lot of variable factors but at the very essence of it, Palace are in dire need of boosting their forces in the middle of the park.
With an injury-hit squad at hand, their lack of depth in a lot of areas has been harshly highlighted and the midfield area is certainly one of them. While they do have quite a few options at hand, the truth is that most of those players lack quality.
Of course, it is unrealistic to expect the first-choice performers to be at their best throughout the season, so to establish a more solid front, a move for Amadou seems to be the need of the hour.
A defensive midfielder by trade, the 24-year-old is not only the captain of Lille but is also an extremely accomplished player. Known to be calm, dominant and aggressive, Amadou thrives when placed right in front of the defence line and does his job very well.
He can also be deployed as a centre-back and given his keen eye for detail and defensive solidity, it does not really come as a surprise. He is quite powerful as well and can make some important tackles and interceptions to keep trouble at bay for his team.
Palace will certainly need a player like him. Once this season comes to an end, it will be interesting to see if the Eagles can survive relegation or not. If they do, they must do everything they can to get their hands on Amadou because he is a gem of a player and can work wonders on the big stage as well.