Crystal Palace could come back in for Serie A striker with ‘€15-16m’ bid

Dave Tindall
Erick Pulgar, Christian Kouame TEAMtalk

Crystal Palace could bolster their attack with a January transfer window move for Christian Kouame from Italian side Fiorentina.

It’s believed that the Eagles came close to signing the Ivory Coast forward previously.

However, their potential €20million bid didn’t see the light of day. That was due to the player picking up a severe knee injury.

Palace pulled out as they were unsure he’d make a full recovery.

Instead, Genoa’s fellow Serie A side Fiorentina took the plunge. They secured Kouame’s services in January 2020 on loan with an obligation to buy, eventually paying a reported €10m.

Kouame netted in a 4-3 defeat in just his second Serie A appearance of the season. But it’s gone stale for him since. The 23-year-old has failed to score in his last 16 appearances for club and country.

However, Fiorentina still think the player has plenty of value and believe they could profit by selling him this January.

Palace one of quartet linked to Kouame

Italian outlet Corriere dello Sport (via Sport Witness) list four clubs as showing an interest in the player.

They list Torino as the first but also mention that Crystal Palace, Verona and Olympique de Marseille “have added themselves to the list of suitors willing to spend €15-16m”.

According to Sky Italia, Torino appear to have set the bar by making a loan with obligation to buy at €15-16m offer.

If Palace are genuinely interested, they could match that or go in higher.

Last month it was reported that Leeds United were keeping tabs on Kouame and his Fiorentina teammate, midfielder Erick Pulgar.

However, that story seemed somewhat unlikely given that they’re the fifth highest scorers in the division with 30 goals. Leeds’ problems have come at the other end of the pitch.

Roy Hodgson’s Palace have scored 22 goals from their 17 Premier League matches this season. Wilfried Zaha has increased his output this season but putting the ball in the back of the net remains a weakness.