It’s times like these, we are reminded why Crystal Palace’s director of football Dougie Freedman has so many admirers.
Newcastle and Manchester United have both spent portions of 2024 chasing the man who brought Ebere Eze, Michael Olise, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Marc Guehi, Daniel Munoz and the outstanding Adam Wharton to Selhurst Park.
Jobe Bellingham, a young, improving talent who has made his name in the Championship, is very much a trademark Freedman signing, Crystal Palace reportedly keen on the Sunderland starlet.
Freedman’s almost unrivalled eye for a bargain, meanwhile, has Palace also closing in on a player who, just last year, was the subject of approaches from AC Milan and Liverpool.
HITC understands that The Eagles are in talks to bring in Daichi Kamada from Lazio, reuniting the stylish Japan international with his fomer Europa League winning Eintracht Frankfurt coach Oliver Glasner.
Crystal Palace in talks with Lazio’s Daichi Kamada
Kamada – one of the finest goalscoring midfielders on the continent while in the Bundesliga – could join Eze, Wharton and Cheick Doucoure in arguably the finest Premier League midfield outside of the so-called ‘big six’.
If Freedman ever fancies a new venture away from football, one suspects he’d have quite the future in treasure collecting, given the sheer number of gems he seems to unearth.
Freedman’s opposite number at Lazio, meanwhile, has been left with a rather sour taste in his mouth as Kamada prepares to leave the Serie A giants on a free transfer just one year after he arrived from Frankfurt.
“I start from a fixed point. When there is a wind of change, either you have solid foundations or you are swept away,” Angelo Fabiani begins in rather metaphorical fashion, via Lazio Style Radio. “I have always said that players must be at the service of Lazio, not the other way around.
“With Kamada, last year we focused on (signing) the boy given the problems with Luis Alberto, and we were looking for a player with those characteristics. (Former coach Maurizio) Sarri gave his approval on this player.”
Oliver Glasner reunion on the cards
Kamada signed an initial 12-month deal at Lazio, albeit with a ‘three-year renewal’ option. Much to Fabiani’s displeasure, that clause can no longer be triggered, leaving the Biancocelesti in a very vulnerable position.
“Yesterday, on May 30th, the renewal clause for Kamada expired. We found ourselves faced with something unexpected,” Fabiani adds
“I clearly said that we would not submit to this situation. This is unacceptable. The agents and the players must understand that whoever wears the Lazio shirt must love it.
“In football everyone is important, but no one is indispensable.”
Kamada has endured a difficult time at Lazio. He has scored only twice, in stark contrast to his tally of 16 from 2022/23. His agent also admitted a few months ago that he was unhappy with a lack of regular starts, although Kamada has found game time a lot easier to come by after Sarri was replaced in the dugout by Igor Tudor.
One of the most intelligent, elegant and effective box-crashing midfielders in the game, Kamada scored three goals in European competition against Crystal Palace’s London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham during his time at Frankfurt side.
“I like the way he thinks. I like the way he plays,” Arsenal legend Thierry Henry told CBS back in 2022. “Not really strong, he doesn’t jump too high and he’s not really fast. But what he does very well is that he always appears in the box.
“He can’t run past people. So what he does is he lays it off, then make sure he follows and makes it inside the box. He stays alive every single time. I really like Kamada. He’s a very good player. He will find a way to score.”
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