Premier League outfit Crystal Palace have not yet agreed a deal to sign Naouirou Ahamada from Bundesliga strugglers VFB Stuttgart, Die Schwaben’s sporting director Fabian Wohlgemuth tells BILD.
A lack of energy and drive in the middle of the park has been a major bone of contention amongst the Palace faithful for some time now. Cheick Doucoure continues to be a revelation in the deep-lying role under Patrick Vieira. But, seriously, how many Premier League teams would find a place for Jeffrey Schlupp or Will Hughes in their starting XI?
Andre Ayew and Ebere Eze, meanwhile, are more comfortable out wide than they are in the middle.
Former Juventus youngster Ahamada, then, may be exactly what the proverbial doctor ordered.
The first thing that stands out when watching the 20-year-old Frenchman is how comfortable he is with the ball at his feet. Ahamada is what some call ‘press resistant’. Essentially, try and close him down and he will simply spin away from danger with a burst of acceleration and a flash of mazy footwork.
Crystal Palace want to sign Naouirou Ahamada from VfB Stuttgart
Ahamada promises to bring a very different dimension to this rather one-paced Crystal Palace midfield. None of the midfielders currently at Vieira’s disposal possess his penchant for skipping through tackles while turning defence into attack with a trademark change of pace.
Palace are in talks, per The Standard. But reports from FootMercato suggesting an agreement has already been reached with Stuttgart are, Wohlgemuth says, wide of the mark.
“Every club is currently exploring its options. But there is no agreement with any club,” the director insists. “The player didn’t come to us with the request that he wants to leave.”
On the opening day of the Bundesliga season, Ahamada picked up possession on the edge of the RB Leipzig box. He played an incisive one-two before curling an inch-perfect shot into the bottom corner.
It’s been some time since Crystal Palace had a midfielder capable of creating something out of nothing like Ahamada.
Patrick Vieira is hoping for a new midfielder
Eagles boss Vieira is making no secret of his desire for new additions. A midfielder is right at the top of his wishlist. Though a Selhurst Park return for Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher remains unlikely.
“I hope we manage to bring those players to help the team be more competitive,” Vieira tells Sky Sports. “Conor did really well when he was with us last year. And we will be interested in bringing good players to our club.
“Conor is a good footballer. But he’s at Chelsea, and there’s no sign that there is the possibility for him to leave. So we can’t hope for something that we are not sure to get.
“That means for us it’s important to open our mind (to other options).”
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