The Ivorian could have joined Crystal Palace in January.
Kouame was heavily linked with a move to the Eagles in January but things didn’t quite work out.
The Ivorian joined Fiorentina on loan from Genoa instead and sports director, Daniele Prade, confirmed then that Palace had indeed pulled out of the deal to sign him. (Calcio News 24)
Speaking about the failed transfer, Kouame said: “It wasn’t destined for me to go to Crystal Palace. At Christmas, we went to the centre of Florence with my girlfriend, who told me she wanted to live there. Destiny, a month later I was a Fiorentina player.”
Prade revealed that there was an agreement between Genoa and Palace over the sale of the young forward but his potentially season-ending injury forced Palace to go back on the deal.
Roy Hodgson’s side signed Cenk Tosun on loan from Everton instead but things didn’t quite work out there either. The Turk suffered a season-ending injury of his own and Palace went right back to where they started.
It will be interesting to see if Hodgson decides to go back in for Kouame in the summer when he returns to full fitness. The Ivorian had five goals and three assists in 11 games before his injury and, if he can get back to the same level, he would be a very good signing for most sides.
Palace could even go in for Tosun in the summer when the Everton man recovers from his injury. However Kouame, at 22, would be a far more exciting signing ahead of next season.
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