Crystal Palace are in talks to sign Daniel Munoz from Genk in a potential £10 million deal with South American expert Tim Vickery expecting ‘plenty of goals’ from the right-back should he arrive in the Premier League.
With all due respect to Joel Ward and Nathaniel Clyne, still reliable operators even in the autumn of their top-flight careers, Crystal Palace have looked like a team crying out for a new right-back arguably since Aaron Wan-Bissaka left for Manchester United five years ago.
Nathan Ferguson could have been the man for the job, if it wasn’t for a relentless series of injuries which have restricted the former West Brom man to just one appearance in three-and-a-half seasons at Selhurst Park.
But are Palace about to solve that long-running ‘problem position’ at long last? The Sun reports that Daniel Munoz, Genk’s £10 million Colombia international, is keen to force through a move to the Premier League this month after missing out on a potential switch to Everton back in 2021.
Crystal Palace want Daniel Munoz
“I just wonder here if we might have the potential for a new route. I wonder if Premier League clubs will start looking at South Americans based in Belgium,” Tim Vickery, an expert in all things South American, tells Sky Sports of the ex- Atletico Nacional ace.
“He’s a very, very different type of player from Matheus Franca, who is an attacking midfielder and a real talent but bought (by Palace) on promise.
“Daniel Munoz is 27. Experienced. He’s Colombia’s first choice right-back. What he is is he’s an attacking right-back. There’s plenty of goals in him from that position, both with his right foot and getting in at the far post with his headers.”
You can say that again.
Since the start of last season, Munoz has scored 15 goals and set up nine more from his supposedly ‘defensive’ role. But, if you are wondering what the ‘catch’ is, we’ll let Vickery explain…
Genk ace missed out on Everton move
“He can go on the outside and cross,” Vickery adds. “He’s quite tall, he’s more than 6ft, but defensively he maybe can be caught a little bit off balance. He can be ready for the Premier League, as long as you realise that what you’re buying here is an attacking right-back.”
Munoz, interestingly, was ‘offered’ to Everton during the ill-fated Rafa Benitez era, as confirmed by the Colombian’s agent. The Toffees would go on to buy Nathan Patterson from Rangers a few months later.
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