Crystal Palace are in talks with Lens’ Ligue 1 colossus Cheick Doucoure as they look to bring the £16 million midfielder to the Premier League, as reported by Goal.
If you were going to rank the finest midfield partnerships in France on reputation alone, you’d probably put Leandro Paredes and Marco Verratti at the top of the list.
Followed closely, perhaps, by Gerson and Matteo Guendouzi of Marseille.
Avid Ligue 1 watchers, however, will tell you that nobody on the other side of the Channel really comes close to Seko Fofana and Cheick Doucoure at a Lens side who have spent the last two years exceeding expectations since securing their return to the top flight.
If Fofana is the most influential footballer in all of France – he was named Get France Football News’ 2021 Player of the Year for a reason – then Doucoure isn’t too far behind.
Is Cheick Doucoure Crystal Palace’s new midfield general?
“Cheick knows how to do everything on the pitch,” Fofana explains of his less-heralded team-mate. “He works in the shadows and, for me, he is very important.
“He is incredibly complete. He’s one of the best players I’ve played with. He knows how to shoot from distance, how to pass, break the lines, dribble, defend.”
There’s a touch of the Patrick Vieira’s about Lens’ 22-year-old Mali international. Maybe that’s why the Palace boss likes him.
According to Goal, the FA Cup semi-finalists are in touch with Doucoure’s agents, though they are yet to make a bid for a man who could reportedly cost around £16 million.
Doucoure, who opened his account for the season with a long-range thunderbolt in the recent 3-0 battering of Nice, could potentially replace Cheikhou Kouyate, James McArthur or Luka Milivojevic in the heart of Crystal Palace’s industrious but ageing engine room.
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The Eagles are also looking at Aston Villa misfit Morgan Sanson and Ajax’s Edson Alvarez. The agent of Dynamo Moscow midfielder Daniil Fomin has also confirmed Palace’s interest.
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