The Bournemouth winger looks unlikely to join Aston Villa but Crystal Palace’s out-of-favour attacker could be an astute addition.
Aston Villa are expected to be splashing the ink right up until Wednesday’s midnight deadline and it looks like they may be forced to devote some of the remaining minutes to identifying a new winger after Bleacher Report claimed that Max Gradel is also on Hull City’s radar.
However, in Lee Chung-Yong, they may have got their man, as reported by the Birmingham Mail.
Former Leeds United winger Gradel will be permitted to leave Bournemouth this month after failing to earn a place in The Cherries’ line-up following a long-term injury and The Sun reported that Villa were preparing to make a late bid.
The need for reinforcements in wide areas looks increasingly pressing after Sky Sports reported that Jordon Ayew is set to move to Swansea City in a swap deal, meaning Albert Adomah will be the only natural winger in Steve Bruce’s squad.
Therefore, an approach for Gradel, who netted 18 times in 41 appearances from a nominally wide position for Leeds in 2010/11, appeared to make perfect sense.
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However, according to Bleacher Report, Premier League strugglers Hull have now joined the race after losing talisman Robert Snodgrass and missing out on Genk starlet Leon Bailey.
The Sun add that Gradel would prefer to remain in the top flight so Hull, regardless of their rather precarious position, appears to be a more enticing prospect for the Ivorian international.
Therefore, Villa will need to scour the market once again and, according to the Birmingham Mail, they could make a move for Crystal Palace’s Lee Chung-Yong after the South Korean international was informed that he is not part of Sam Allardyce’s plans.
The winger has second tier experience under his belt at Bolton Wanderers and could relish the prospect of regular minutes after failing to hold down a position at Selhurst Park.
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And while he may not be a regular goalscorer, Lee’s jinking runs and vision could improve the productivity of their rather profligate strikeforce.
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