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La Liga Leaks: Scouting for.. Crystal Palace

Introducing..

It’s hard to know what the preseason remit was at Crystal Palace last year. Of course avoiding relegation is a no brainer but after the signing of Yohan Cabaye, along with Conor Wickham and later Emmanuel Adebayor you expected them to finished around midtable. They avoided relegation but only won two league matches in 2016 as their form spiralled out of control and the FA Cup became the priority. They lost to Manchester United in the cup final and, if everyone is being honest, the season was below average at best.

Andros Townsend, James Tomkins and Steve Mandanda have all joined the club this summer while failed bids for Christian Benteke and Saido Berahino go to show that the club doesn’t lack the ambition to challenge further up the table.

Problem areas

It’s clear to see that it’s in the striker department where Crystal Palace really need to improve. Connor Wickham had an okay campaign but there was nothing to suggest he is going to be a world-beater this time around either. Dwight Gayle has joined Newcastle and Adebayor was released at the end of his six-month deal.

They are quite stocked in midfield as well as down both wings but could do with strengthening their defence. The full back positions are solid but with room for improvement and the same goes for the centre backs, even with the signing of Tomkins. Scott Dann and Damien Delaney are the only other natural centre backs in the entire squad.

Who could they sign?

Right, so strikers with an eye for goal - money no object. How about someone that could be available for less than £5m, has Europa League and Champions League experience under his belt - and won league titles? Fernando Llorente had a season to forget last time out and was eventually forced into a secondary role due to his then-teammate Kevin Gameiro’s goalscoring exploits. However let’s not forget how good of a target man striker Llorente is.

In many ways, Fernando is built to succeed in the Premier League. He’s a big, tall, physically strong and aerially dominant frontman. At Juventus he played an important role in his first season before becoming more of an impact sub the second time around. Either way he ended up with nearly 30 goals over the course of his two seasons at the club which isn’t shabby considering his bit-part role before he left. At 31 he’s still got plenty in his locker. Llorente doesn’t rely on pace, more his intelligence on the field. All he needs is for someone to trust him and allow him the time to find his rhythm.

They could also look at John Guidetti who we all know would love to have another crack at the Premier League. He joined Celta Vigo after being released by Manchester City but has proven himself to be a very good striker. Although still not the finished article he had a two-month spell where he scored nine goals for the club. Guidetti would want assurances as to his playing time but a motivated, determined striker alongside Llorente and it could rain goals in the Premier League.

As for defenders, I’ve already mentioned Diego Reyes (although he is currently back at Porto after a season on loan at Real Sociedad) in another blog but there are different options such as Sergio Gomez from Celta. He’s only 20 but has emerged as a key defender for his club and is very strong on the ball. He probably wouldn’t be an immediate starter as he works on the physical side of things, but over the course of the season might force his way into the starting XI. A good prospect who is developing really well.

If they wanted to make a real statement of intent then the likes of Iñigo Martinez would be ideal, although perhaps a tough sell. And I know he’s had a horrible first season at Valencia but a lot of big European sides were after Aymen Abdennour before he signed for Los Che. It’s never easy changing countries and less so being thrown into an environment as poisonous as the one at the Mestalla last year - ask Gary Neville about that. They’d take any reasonable offer for the Tunisian international and who knows, maybe a chance to prove himself in England would be something he’d grab with both hands. We all know how players love to prove their detractors wrong.