Last week, German publication BILD reported that Orel Mangala was on his way to the Premier League. And the Stuttgart midfielder had his pick of three clubs; West Ham United, Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace.
And you’d have forgiven Palace fans if they weren’t feeling particularly positive about their chances.
Patrick Vieira’s side had already missed out on Lewis O’Brien to Forest and Joe Aribo to Southampton. Daniil Fomin’s agent also ruled out a summer switch to Selhurst Park. Andreas Pereira is now a Fulham player too, while West Ham snatched Flynn Downes from under Palace noses.
So when the news broke that Mangala was heading for a medical at the City Ground, the reaction from South London would have been one less of shock and more of resignation.
According to The Athletic, Nottingham Forest have agreed a near-£13 million fee for the tireless, box-to-box Belgium international.
Crystal Palace always knew Conor Gallagher would be difficult to replace. But perhaps not quite this difficult.
“He did fantastically well for us,” Vieira told Yahoo a couple of days ago, extinguishing any lingering hopes of Gallagher spending another season at Selhurst Park.
“But he is in pre-season with Chelsea and, honestly, we wish him all the best. I don’t think there is a way to get him back. At the moment, I don’t think there is any chance.”
Who will be Crystal Palace’s next midfield target?
But there is still one midfield target Crystal Palace could turn to. And PSV Eindhoven’s Ibrahim Sangare should hardly be viewed as a last resort.
The Ivorian colossus is not a like-for-like Gallagher replacement. He is more of a deep-lying dictator than a goalscoring wildcard. But a central midfield partnership of Sangare and Cheick Doucoure could go toe-to-toe with almost any Premier League opposition and stand a good chance of landing a knockout blow.
The Sun reported in May that Crystal Palace are fans of the former Toulouse ace. And, with a £34 million release clause in his PSV contract, Palace can avoid the sort of bidding war they have frequently found themselves on the wrong side this summer, while cutting out the middle man.
“He’d fit in at the top five clubs of the Premier League. That’s how good he is,” raves PSV legend Aad de Mos.
“He’s ready for the top. If I compare him with players I see at Arsenal, or the midfielders at Tottenham, he can come.”
Crystal Palace might have ran into more hurdles than a blind horse at the Grand National in their pursuit of Cheick Doucoure’s new midfield partner. But there’s still time on their side, and quality to be found if the Eagles are willing to dig deep.
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