SAKA, ANTONY AND 10 PREMIER LEAGUE STARS HEADING TO THEIR FIRST WORLD CUP
Once a prolific striker. Then, an impressive, young manager. Now, Dougie Freedman is Crystal Palace’s Sporting Director, and his next port of call is crystal clear.
Roy Hodgson’s side is in dire need of a new centre-back.
What? But we’ve got Mamadou Sakho, Scott Dann, James Tomkins, Gary Cahill, Cheikhou Kouyate and Martin Kelly, I hear you cry.
Well, one thing that all six of these players have in common is that none of them are under the age of 30.
Sakho is 30. Kelly is 30. Cahill is 35 and Dann is 33, while Kouyate and Tomkins are both 31.
The south Londoners seriously need some fresh blood in the centre-back department.
Sooner or later, Cahill and Dann will not be competent Premier League operators anymore, while the other aforementioned options would soon join them.
Instead of waiting until that inevitability happens, Freedman needs to be proactive and bring at least one, fresh-faced centre-back to Selhurst Park.
The Scot could even loan any potential arrival back to the club he signed them from, if he wishes to do so.
The most important thing for the Eagles is having that player on the books, waiting in the shadows.
Leicester performed a similar transfer trick in perfect fashion, signing Çağlar Söyüncü even though they had Harry Maguire, Jonny Evans and Wes Morgan.
Now Maguire has gone and Morgan is perhaps too old, the Turkey international has nailed down a first-team place and looks an excellent signing.
There are, of course, other areas that need reinforcing.
However, this should be Freedman’s No.1 priority in SE25.
