Super-agent Jorge Mendes is keen to take Crystal Palace target Rayan Ait-Nouri away from Angers this summer, the Ligue 1 club’s president Sebastien Larcier has told Ouest France.
While Roy Hodgson might have retained Patrick Van Aanholt in the face of very public interest from PSV Eindhoven during the January transfer window, the influential Dutchman has just one year left on his contract.
With the seldom-seen Jairo Riedewald and youngster Tyrick Mitchell the only other left-back options in Crystal Palace’s squad, maybe it is time to plan for life without Van Aanholt at Selhurst Park.
According to LeFoot in March, Palace are doing exactly that.
Ait-Nouri might have only turned 19 a few weeks ago but he is already catching the eye of clubs from across Europe, with reports from France saying that Crystal Palace are rivalling Atletico Madrid for the signature of a France U21 international.
With the string-pulling Mendes allegedly looking to secure a big-money switch for one of his most highly-rated clients, Larcier suggests that Ait-Nouri’s departure is nothing short of ‘inevitable’.
“We know that Rayan has huge interest (from other clubs,” Larcier admits. “We know that he has an agent (Mendes) who carries a lot of weight in football and who sends us messages indicating that it is an inevitable transfer.
“But there has not yet been any concrete offer. Noises and rumours will have to become actions.”
LeFoot suggested that Angers will demand a staggering £31 million for Ait-Nouri, a fee that would require Palace to shatter their transfer record.
But in a market impacted irreversibly by an ongoing financial crisis, it seems unlikely that Palace chairman Steve Parish will make a teenage left-back the most expensive footballer in his club’s history this summer.
Especially with Hodgson making clear his desire to land a proven, top-class goal-scorer.
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