According to The Sun, Crystal Palace want to sign Eddie Nketiah in January, rather than wait until he leaves Arsenal in June.
What’s the story?
Well, Crystal Palace’s interest in the £45,000-a-week forward is nothing new.
Back in the summer, the Eagles tried to sign the 22-year-old, while bitter rivals Brighton also made attempts to secure his services (The Sun).
In the end, Crystal Palace spent £14m on Odsonne Edouard.
However, Patrick Vieira remains keen on Nketiah, as there are doubts over Jean-Philippe Mateta.
Despite a goal against Norwich on December 28th, The Sun believe Crystal Palace are unlikely to turn the Frenchman’s loan into a permanent move.
Nketiah is keen to leave Arsenal in search of regular first-team football.
Eddie Nketiah would thrive at Crystal Palace
In our view, Nketiah would be a huge success at Selhurst Park.
The London-born youngster would have many teammates of a similar age to him – also born in London – such as Eberechi Eze, Tyrick Mitchell and Michael Olise.
With Vieira at the helm – formerly in charge of Manchester City’s Under-23 side – Nketiah would also have a coach who knows how to work with young players.
Furthermore, the Hale End Academy graduate offers something different to Christian Benteke and Odsonne Edouard, so he’s likely to receive a good amount of first-team action.
Nketiah is also England’s all-time top scorer at Under-21 level, netting 16 goals in 17 games.
His form for the England Under-21 side even caused Aidy Boothroyd to liken him to Alan Shearer and Harry Kane (Goal).
Keep an eye on this saga – if Arsenal fail to sell Nketiah this month, it looks like they’ll lose him for nothing in June.
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