Fiorentina striker Christian Kouame is a target for Premier League duo Crystal Palace and Wolverhampton Wanderers heading into the summer transfer window, as reported by Tuttomercatoweb.
Déjà vu, Palace fans?
If Kouame’s name feels strangely familiar, there is a reason for that.
Because, some 14 months ago, the striker admitted that, if it wasn’t for an ill-timed injury, he would have been a Palace player in 2020.
“Cristian had already been sold to Crystal Palace (but) the injury stopped everything and we took the ball,” Fiorentina director Daniele Prade would then explain after La Viola snapped up the Ivory Coast international instead.
With just nine starts and one goal to his name across 2020/21, however, Fiorentina’s £14 million risk hasn’t exactly reaped many rewards.
Kouame, though injury free these days, has struggled to live up to expectations or a hefty price tag at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, falling behind the explosive Dusan Vlahovic in the pecking order.
You would think, then, that Fiorentina would not stand in Kouame’s way if Crystal Palace come calling again.
TMW reports that Wolves, on the back of a miserable, goal-shy campaign, are in the market for Kouame too. Their interest is understood to have grown over the last two months with Kouame capable of leading the line or playing in a deeper role.
Despite his obvious talents, the 23-year-old has not scored more than five goals in a single Serie A season, netting just twice in 40 games for Fiorentina.
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