Richmond Boakye is set to be at the centre of a tug-of-war in January with Crystal Palace and Everton two of the sides interested.
Crystal Palace are still bottom of the Premier League table but there are shoots of recovery under Roy Hodgson. For one thing, they no longer have the worst goalscoring record in the top flight, having netted once more than Swansea City.
And a dramatic 2-1 home win against Stoke on Saturday, secured thanks to a last-gasp Mamadou Sakho winner, means Palace are now just one win away from escaping the relegation zone.
But if Palace are to really put their dismal start to the season behind them at the turn of the year, reinforcements are required. Though The Eagles have found goals a little easier to come by of late, a new centre-forward is a must.
Conor Wickham is still on the sidelines with injury and Christian Benteke, who only recently returned from a month out, looks short of form and full fitness and is yet to open his account in 2017/18.
Saviour of seasons?
In stark contrast, however, Richmond Boakye cannot stop scoring. Red Star Belgrade’s Ghanaian goal machine has hit the net 43 times for club and country in 2017 alone – so it’s little surprise that Palace are interested in bringing the £10 million-rated forward to Selhurst Park, per The Mail.
Palace face plenty of competition with DH claiming that Everton are stepping up their interest ahead of January. The Toffees, like Palace, have struggled to field a regular first-choice striker in recent months and still need to replace Romelu Lukaku.
But securing the right man in January could be the difference between Hodgson’s basement boys staying to fight another day in the top flight or dropping into the Championship for the first time since 2013.
In short, Palace must do everything they can to bring Boakye to the capital.
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