Crystal Palace target Borja Mayoral was singled out for praise by Roma boss Jose Mourinho after the Serie A giants defeated CSKA Sofia 3-2 in the UEFA Conference League on Thursday night, speaking to Sky Italia.
Whenever he joins a new club, it usually doesn’t take Mourinho long to relegate a highly-talented fowrard to the fringes of his squad.
It was Juan Mata at Chelsea. Tanguy Ndombele at Tottenham. And, at Roma, it is former Spain U21 international Mayoral who must be wondering just what he’s done to get on Mourinho’s bad side.
It’s not as if the forward had struggled for form since moving to the Stadio Olimpico from La Liga giants Real Madrid either. Mayoral scored 17 times during his debut season in the Italian capital – more than any other Roma player.
He’s played just 26 minutes of Serie A football since Mourinho replaced Paulo Fonseca on the Giallorossi bench, however, forced to face the ignominy of Conference League football with the rest of Mourinho’s much-maligned B-team.
Is Borja Mayoral leaving Roma for Crystal Palace?
According to The Sun, Crystal Palace are planning to offer Mayoral a fresh start in the January transfer window with a bid in the region of £8.5 million on the cards (La Nazione).
Though, with Roma slipping to seventh in the table after a bright start, Mourinho could do worse than to give Mayoral a chance to stake his claim – especially after the 24-year-old scored a brilliant backheel against CSKA Sofia on Thursday.
“He was one of the few positives,” Mourinho said after Mayoral produced a finish to remind everyone why Zinedine Zidane once compared him to Real Madrid legend Raul.
Praise from old misery chops Mourinho. Mayoral must have done something good.
“His goal was beautiful, but I also liked the work he put in,” the former Chelsea and Manchester United boss added. “I am not surprised, because he always works hard.”
Crystal Palace could have done with a moment of magic like Mayoral’s during a run of three straight Premier League defeats.
Despite boasting the sort of attacking talent most of their top-flight rivals would kill for, Palace have scored just 19 goals in 15 games under Patrick Vieira.
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