Crystal Palace looking to Senegal striker to solve goal-shy woes
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Having seen Dwight Gayle head north to Newcastle, and Emanuel Adebayor return to the footballing wilderness, Crystal Palace are eagerly seeking a man to fix their attacking plight.
After bids for Michy Batshuayi and Christian Benteke fell through, the latest target for the south London club is Moussa Sow.
Currently playing for UAE side Al-Ahli, Sow is reportedly keen on a move to the Premier League, but with the Egyptian side paying £15m for the Senegal international just 12 months ago, he won’t come cheap.
With some of the fees Palace have been offering already this season, however, that seems unlikely to be a deterrent and the forward comes with a proven goal record.
Sow netted 60 times from 144 appearances for Fenerbahce between 2012 and 2015, having scored 36 in 76 for French side Lille between 2010 and 2012.
Alan Pardew’s side really struggled for goals last season, with only West Brom and the doomed Aston Villa scoring fewer in the Premier League.
The mid-season signing of Adebayor was a testament to how bad Palace’s goal-plight became, and the Togo striker offered little improvement to what Pardew already had available.
Palace failed to score in 14 league games last term, and no player managed more than five goals.
Of the four men who did net five times, only Connor Wickham was a recognised striker.
The bids for Batshuayi and Benteke have already shown how keen the Selhurst Park outfit are to land a big-time recognised forward, although that may merely allow Al-Ahli to demand more for Sow should Palace table an offer.
Nevertheless, another season of goal-shy football could put Palace in major trouble, and Pardew will be fully aware that at least one sizeable signing is required before the season kicks-off in a months’ time.
A deal for Benteke is far from dead and buried, but having been refuted already this summer, it might be wise for the Eagles to spread their wings and look a little farther afield in their search to bring goals to south London.
Land a scorer and Palace will be much more confident when they head into their opening match versus West Brom.
The Eagles are 21/20 to get the season up and underway with three points, with the Baggies 14/5 outsiders to win at Selhurst.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
