Crystal Palace defender Cheikhou Kouyate appears to be on his way out of the Premier League despite turning down the chance to join a club in Qatar, according to Fanatik.
The former West Ham enforcer is one of the few senior players not to have become a free agent on July 1. But that does not mean he will not have a new club come September.
With Crystal Palace set to follow up the £18 million acquisition of Marc Guehi with the equally-expensive Joachim Andersen – a £19 million deal for the Lyon defender is very nearly done – it is hard to imagine a regular role in Patrick Vieira’s plans for Kouyate.
The midfielder-turned-defender looks set to be a backup at best should he stay at Selhurst Park, with Vieira looking to build his side around younger, more technically-gifted footballers than the 31-year-old Senegal international.
Furthermore, with just one year left on Kouyate’s contract, you would think the Eagles would rather cash in now than let the 69-capped veteran leave on a free 12 months later.
Has Cheikhou Kouyate played his last game for Crystal Palace?
Kouyate has allegedly turned down a money-spinning move to Qatar and wants to extend his stay in Europe, if possible.
There is an offer on the table from Trabzonspor, whose president Ahmet Agaoglu recently held a two-hour meeting with Kouyate’s representative.
At this stage, however, it is not certain whether the Super Lig outfit are willing to meet the defender’s demands of a 2 million euro contract (working out at around £33,000-a-week).
Trabzonspor finished fourth in the Turkish top flight last season and recently added Napoli legend Marek Hamsik to their roster.
Crystal Palace, meanwhile, have also snapped up the much-admired Michael Olise from Reading and are now looking to bring in an attacker to compensate for Ebere Eze’s injury-enforced absence.
Ademola Lookman, Reiss Nelson and Noni Madueke are under consideration.
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