Young players Palace should take a serious look at
- Muhammad Rofiq Naufal
- @rofiq_naufal
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The summer transfer window has already opened for Premier League clubs and with the new broadcasting deal for the 2016/17 season, they are expected to spend even more on player transfers. Crystal Palace are no exception.
The South London club are expected to strengthen every position of the team, especially in defence. Palace have released a few defenders and rumours linking key player Scott Dann to Everton are a worry too.
In midfield, the Eagle are pretty solid. Well, at least solid enough to finish in a respectable mid-table position in Premier League and advance to the latter stages of FA Cup and Capital One Cup, with the likes of Yohan Cabaye, Mile Jedinak, Joe Ledley, Wilfried Zaha, Yannick Bolasie, and some others.
In terms of strikers, Crystal Palace have two good options in Connor Wickham and Dwight Gayle, although they still need to perform much better than last season and score more goals. The odds suggest they won’t, however, even when using this promo code available on Stan James.
Last season, Palace had a squad consisting of 31 players with an average age of 28 years old, and with several players like Marouane Chamakh, Emmanuel Adebayor, Adrian Mariappa, Brede Hangeland, Paddy McCarthy released by the club, there will be some space for new players that are expected to be signed in this summer transfer window.
Signing young, cheaper, talented players would be more of a bargain for Palace.
Here are some young talents which in my opinion would be suitable and ideal for Crystal Palace:
Bartłomiej Drągowski (Goalkeeper, 18, Poland)
Bartlomiej Dragowski plays for Jagiellonia Bialystok in Ekstraklasa, the highest tier in Polish professional league.
He made his debut for Jagiellonia in 2013/2014 season in a home match against Korona Kielce which ended in a 4-4 draw scoreline when he was just 16 years old and just like every other player who debuted at a very tender age, he is of course noticed by big clubs all over Europe.
Since 2014/15 season, he has been a key player for Jagiellonia and Poland U21 national team.
After making 34 appearances, conceding 55 goals, and keeping 10 clean sheets in Ekstraklasa, also making four appearances in Europa League Qualifiers, conceding only one goal with three clean sheets, the 2015/16 season has been an incredible season for Dragowski, and it would be a very smart move if Palace snap him up quickly before any other teams did, especially after the rumours that Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, and Juventus are also linked with this talent.
Linus Wahlqvist (Right Back, 19, Sweden)
Linus Wahlqvist was only 19 years of age when he made his first debut for IFK Norrköping in Allsvenskan. In that season, he made 29 appearances that helped his team to win the league for the 13th time, after finishing horribly the season before.
The 2014/15 season was a remarkable season for him, forming a rock solid defence for IFK Norrköping, along with Christopher Telo, David Wiklander, and Andreas Johansson and he has been ever-present this season for the Swedish defending champion.
Linus Wahlqvist is not the type of player you would expect to make a lot of attacking runs, crosses, cut-insides.
He is much better when defending. Not making a lot of mistakes and pretty good in aerial duel, he could break any opposition’s attacks and frustrate the players.
There are rumours that Aston Villa, Sunderland, and Watford are also watching the players closely.
I believe Linus Wahlqvist could be available for a cheaper and more reasonable price if Palace would sign him next season.
Rivaldo Coetzee (Centre Back, 19, South Africa)
South Africa has always produced a lot of football talents, though we don’t always them flourish in European football, some of them are actually special talents.
Players like Steven Pienaar, Kamohelo Mokotjo, Thulani Serero, Benni McCarthy are some good examples why European clubs should also pay attention to African football.
Making his debut at a tender age of 17, Rivaldo Coetzee already established himself as a first team player, not only for Ajax Cape Town, but also for the senior South Africa National Football Team where he formed a solid partnership with Eric Mathoho.
Rivaldo Coetzee would be available for a pretty reasonable price and Palace should have no problem in signing him. Although lately, Coetzee has been heavily linked with a move to another South African team, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Jerry St. Juste (Centre Back, 19, Netherlands)
There are some reasons why Jerry St. Juste is called the ‘Dutch Varane’. Standing 1,83m tall, pacey, strong in the air, good ball control, good passing ability, and having no problem to mark and tackle any players, he could make a great ball-playing defender, that is if he fulfills his potential.
Playing 28 matches in Eredivisie last season for Heerenveen, only missing six games through injury, Jerry St. Juste has more than enough time to show scouts that he is worth taking a closer look at.
It has been rumoured since last year, that Manchester United are interested in the youngster, but the change of manager from Louis can Gaal to Jose Mourinho, could mean that United may have put their interest aside.
Nicola Murru (Left Back, 21, Italy)
With Pape Souare’s rather inconsistent performances last season, Crystal Palace might consider bringing in another left back in this summer transfer window.
Nicola Murru made 28 Serie B appearances last season for Cagliari whilst facing a stiff competition with another young left back talent, Antonio Barreca, who is on loan from Torino.
Throughout the season, he impressed with a string of stellar performances, showing that he is equally capable of both defending and attacking. Nicola Murru is also a pretty versatile player who could also play as a centre back and a right back.
He has been highly regarded as a very promising talent and with AC Milan and Sassuolo also keeping tabs on the left back, it’s just a matter of time before his price will rise.
Ádám Nagy (Defensive Midfielder, 21, Hungary)
Palace certainly have a pretty solid midfield last season, the combination of Mile Jedinak and Yohan Cabaye may not be the best midfield in Premier League, but they certainly showed promising things last season, though promising is not quite enough to help Palace finish well in the league.
Ádám Nagy could be the player to make Crystal Palace’s midfield much more than just promising. Although only 21 years old, he is already a first team player for Ferencváros and Hungary in Euro 2016, and his ability in bossing the midfield is a clear sign that he is the one with bright future.
Very smart at reading the game, very good anticipation, excellent tackle, excellent passing and vision, agile, he could intercept the ball anywhere, anytime, and then create a rapid counter-attack.
Several teams like Benfica, Bologna, Chelsea, and Liverpool are interested in him, especially after his fine performance against Austria in Euro 2016 and he is heavily linked with a move to Trabzonspor. But, it’s never too late for Palace to make a significant move.
Andre Dozzell (Central Midfielder, 17, England)
Like father, like son. Andre Dozzell, the son of retired former Ipswich player Jason Dozzell, scored on his debut for Ipswich Town when he was only 16 years of age – the exact same thing his father did 28 years ago.
Andre Dozzell has shown so much potential as a teenager and many people predicted that he is going to be something special someday, not just another flop.
Last season, Dozzell only made two appearances for the Ipswich senior team and scored once, and this year, he made six appearances for England U17 and scored two goals.
Ipswich are desperately trying to keep hold of Dozzell following interest from Liverpool, Arsenal, Spurs, and West Ham.
He could be a young star for the future, and it would be best if Palace sign him quickly.
Pione Sisto (Right Winger, 21, Denmark)
Pione Sisto is very similar to Yannick Bolasie, although they both play on different flanks, they both play in a pretty much similar way.
Both are very skillful, excellent dribblers, incredibly fast, strong enough to hold on to the ball, and like to cut inside often. This player could make quick turns and accelerate away from the defender.
Pione Sisto has enjoyed two amazing seasons with FC Midtjylland, helping them to win the league in 2014/15 season and finishing 3rd in 2015/16.
One of the highlights of the season was when he scored two magical goals against Manchester United in Europa League, although they didn’t make it through to the last 16.
Pione Sisto is currently linked with Leicester City, Everton and Southampton, and he is rumoured to be available for £12m.
Adam Ounas (Attacking Midfielder, 19, France)
Adam Ounas is another talent from France, but he is not ‘just’ another talent. He is special. And although it takes more than just special to impress in professional football, I believe that this player has got all it takes to be a world-class player.
Ounas made 23 appearances in Ligue 1 for Bordeaux, netting five times and assisting twice. He is an outstanding dribbler, he can dribble himself out of tight spaces, has very good vision and passing ability, very agile and really quick.
Manchester United and Stoke City has expressed their interest in this player, but if Palace could make a quick deal, it would be a steal.
Ramadan Sobhi (Left Winger, 18, Egypt)
Another super talent comes from Egypt.
Only 18 years of age and already playing regularly for Al Ahly in Egyptian Premier League, Ramadan Sobhi is touted as one of the best and the hottest talent in Egypt right now.
Ramadan Sobhi already made 26 appearances this season for Al Ahly scoring four goals and assisting a further eight.
His incredible performances this season have put Al Ahly top of the league with defending champion Zamalek hot on their tail in the latter stages of Egyptian Premier League.
This player is fast, accurate, strong, outstanding techniques, skills, and dribbling. He is certainly a showboat player and he loves taunting opposition players with his ‘standing on the ball’ move.
Chelsea, Arsenal, Roma, and Stoke have expressed that they are extremely interested in signing this wonder kid.
Siebe Schrijvers (Striker, 19, Belgium)
With Crystal Palace already linked with some strikers such as, Cedric Bakambu, Khouma Babacar and Fernando Llorente following the release of Marouane Chamakh and Emmanuel Adebayor — Siebe Schrijver could be a much younger alternative to sign.
Though Connor Wickham has shown promising things last season, the ex-Sunderland striker’s progress is halted by series of calf injuries.
Siebe Schrijvers made 20 Jupiler Pro League appearances for two different teams last season. Playing 12 teams for KRC Genk and eight times for Waasland-Beveren.
He didn’t score for Genk that season, but his loan move to Waasland-Beveren was pretty impressive. He scored a brace in his first game for Waasland-Beveren when playing away against KV Oostende in a match which ended in a 3-3 draw. Siebe is young but he has the eye for goal, he could improve a lot in the future.
Siebe Schrijvers is apparently not the target of ‘giant’ teams right now but some belgian clubs are apparently interested in him. So, there is a big chance of success if Palace would try to sign him.