Crystal Palace made four signings over the summer and despite the transfer window being closed the club seem to already be looking to the next window to strengthen their team further with a familiar face a potential top target in January.
What’s the latest?
According to journalist Tom Barclay, Crystal Palace would be “interested” in reuniting with Chelsea midfielder and former Palace loanee Conor Gallagher in the new year.
Barclay told GIVEMESPORT:
“I wouldn’t be surprised that come January, we’re not even talking about this as a possible transfer because he’s become a big part of Graham Potter’s plans.
“But obviously, if that doesn’t prove to be the case and he is out of the picture, then a player of that quality, particularly being an England international, if he became available, then you’d be pretty certain that Palace would be interested.”
Vieira needs him badly
Patrick Vieira will be feeling relatively nonchalant about Crystal Palace’s start in the Premier League with the team picking up six points from their first six league outings, currently 16th in the table, but it is clear that there are some problems that need the manager’s attention.
In terms of possession over the season so far, the team are only having 42.8% of the ball which is almost 10% less than the average last season (51.2%) and are struggling to kill games off with three draws so far. Thus, the loss of Gallagher could be partly to blame for their stale start.
Would Gallagher improve the team this season?
The 22-year-old spent last season on loan at Selhurst Park, lighting up the team with his complete midfield performances providing both creativity and defensive strength in the centre of the pitch. The young talent came out on top of the player ratings for Palace last season with a 7.08 rating according to SofaScore.
Gallagher who is reportedly valued at £50m was dubbed a “N’Golo Kante with goals” by talkSPORT’s Tony Cascarino, and it’s not hard to see why when you consider his versatile talents in midfield for Palace last season.
The Chelsea star scored eight goals, delivered three assists and created five big chances, while making 1.1 key passes. He took 51.6 touches, from which he won two tackles and 5.9 duels per game, as well as successfully completing the majority of his dribbles (57%). All of that proved he was a dominant and effective presence for the Eagles.
The Palace boss is a huge admirer of Gallagher and spoke during the summer about the chance of him making a return to the club in the future:
“I am really pleased with the year we spent together. He’s been really good to us. If there’s a possibility to bring him back, we will definitely talk about it.”
With that being said, if the opportunity does present itself for Crystal Palace to reunite with Gallagher permanently they must grab the chance with both hands as the young midfielder could be the difference in quality needed in the central role that could inspire better performances from the team. Vieira certainly needs to bring him back to Selhurst.
