Goal-shy Premier League strugglers Crystal Palace are reportedly keen on Inter Milan’s £29.5m Serie A flop ‘Gabigol’.
Could Gabriel Barbosa’s goal-laden loan spell at Santos earn him a second chance in the big leagues of European football? According to reports in Brazil, that is a distinct possibility.
It has been claimed by UOL that Crystal Palace have contacted Kia Joorabchian, the 22-year-old’s influential agent, about a potential move to Selhurst Park in the January transfer window.
Gabriel is one of many Samba starlets handed ‘wonder-kid’ status in their teenage years, but he looked more Adriano than Ronaldo after sealing a £29.5 million move to Inter Milan in the summer of 2016.
Gabriel scored just once in nine substitute appearances in Serie A and managed a grand total of 13 minutes of league football on loan at Benfica before being sent back to Santos, the club where he made his name.
The 2016 Olympic Gold medallist has set about reclaiming his ‘Gabigol’ moniker in Brazil, however, scoring 24 goals in 47 games for Santos.
His latest was a brilliant left-footed finish, curled home from the corner of the box in a 2-2 draw away at Internacional.
And Gabriel has taken to Twitter to show Crystal Palace fans what they have potentially got to look forward to.
With Christian Benteke looking a shadow of his former self, Alexander Sorloth still without a Premier League goal and Connor Wickham only now returning after two years out injured, could ‘Gabigol’ fire Roy Hodgson’s side to safety?
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