Roy Hodgson’s pursuit of Bournemouth winger Ryan Fraser has been given the backing of Clinton Morrison, with the Crystal Palace hero raving about an ‘exciting’ Premier League talent in conversation with talkSPORT (20 May, 12.30pm).
With even clubs in England’s top flight expected to keep the chequebook closed during a summer hit by an era of unprecedented financial uncertainty, the fact that the Scotland international is set to become a free agent in July will not go unnoticed.
According to The Express, Hodgson is desperate for his Crystal Palace side to win the race for Fraser when his contract expires.
The 2019/20 season has been a bit of a disappointment for a one-time Aberdeen youngster but his exploits the previous year, when only Eden Hazard contributed more than his 14 assists, have not been forgotten by a modern-day Selhurst Park legend.
“This season wasn’t what he was hoping for. Last season he was fantastic with Callum Wilson, (Josh) King and (David) Brooks. That front four caused all sorts of problems and in particular Fraser,” says Morrison, who scored over 100 goals in two spells at Crystal Palace.
“I like him, he’s an exciting winger, he scores goals and he creates goals.
“He’s honest, he did say his head was turned (by a potential move away from Bournemouth last year) and wasn’t performing at the highest level. Next time he comes into a situation like that he just knows he has to keep his standards as high as he can.”
With an assist against Chelsea and an eye-catching performance against Sheffield United coming in recent outings, Fraser does appear to be getting somewhere close to his best again, and that is well-timed with the summer window set to creak open in the near future.
The Express points out that the Scot would prefer a move to Tottenham rather than Crystal Palace, although Jose Mourinho is not convinced about a player Hodgson loves.
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