According to The Athletic, Crystal Palace could sign Daryl Dike on loan in January, with any deal likely to include an option to buy.
What’s the story?
Well, the 21-year-old announced himself in England last season while on loan at Barnsley, where he tore apart the Championship.
Dike scored nine goals in 19 Championship appearances to fire Barnsley into the Play-Off semi-final, where the Tykes lost to Swansea.
The 8-cap United States international has since returned to Orlando City, where he has netted ten goals in 18 Major League Soccer outings.
Interestingly, The Athletic believe Dike fits Crystal Palace’s new transfer policy of buying young talent with high sell-on value.
There is also interest in Real Madrid forward Borja Mayoral – currently on loan at Roma – although The Athletic feel a move for the Spaniard would be too time consuming for the Eagles.
What could Daryl Dike bring to Crystal Palace?
Seeing as he plays his football over in the US, you may not have heard much about Dike and what type of player he is.
In that respect, a comparison might help, and the American has been likened to one of the best forwards on the planet – Romelu Lukaku.
It was Dike’s teammate at Barnsley, Jordan Williams, who made the comparison.
As quoted by the BBC, Williams said: “Daryl has got a rocket of a right foot. I think he’s similar to Lukaku. He hasn’t scored as many goals yet, but he can hit a ball just as hard.”
There’s no denying that Dike is a huge prospect, and the Eagles would be silly not to at least take him on loan.
Also, Jean-Philippe Mateta looks set to leave Selhurst Park in January, which is all the more reason to bring Lukaku 2.0 to south London.
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