Crystal Palace are showing a strong interest in Bordeaux striker Gaetan Laborde, having sent out a scout to observe his match at the weekend, according to French news source Foot Mercato.
The Frenchman scored a penalty in his side’s surprise 3-1 victory against Lyon, who are sitting pretty in second place in Ligue 1.
He was ruled out until October with an injury and has scored two goals in nine games since his return to the side.
The forward has played his whole career in France but is thought to be keen on the prospect of a move to the Premier League with Palace.
Christian Benteke has struggled for large parts this season and boss Roy Hodgson has identified this and is keen to explore other options in this position.
Laborde has also represented France at every level up to Under-20’s, scoring at each of those levels in the process.
The player, as quoted by the Croydon Advertiser, spoke about the possible move to England in a recent interview.
I don’t let it bother me, but it’s true that it’s flattering. It adds to your confidence. It’s always good to be followed by clubs like that.
They’re two big clubs, but to go as far as saying there were official bids… I don’t know anything more and I don’t want to think about it too much.
I’m at Bordeaux and there’s a lot of important stuff coming up. I’m focused on that. I have an agent that deals with the rest.
