Crystal Palace are now close to signing Raphael le Guen from Brest.
The 19-year-old had not been mentioned once as a target this summer, but was swiftly named as a player of interest to Crystal Palace by BBC Sport after Maxence Lacroix was given permission to join Chelsea.
Lacroix to Chelsea is IMMINENT 🚨
Thoughts, Palace fans? 🤔
Fabrizio Romano now claims that the teenager has agreed personal terms with the Eagles and is “excited” by his imminent move to Selhurst Park.
As the move advances, We are Palace reached out to a Brest supporter by the name of Brest on Air on X – previously known as Twitter – to get the lowdown on Le Guen.
Exclusive: Raphael le Guen heralded as the “greatest” Brest talent in over 20 years
Brest on Air said: “He is, by far, the greatest potential seen in our club for more than 20 years. He’s a young player, who definitely needs to improve some aspects of his game but is willing to do so. His progression has been quite linear because he’s a hard working and smart boy.
“Currently, it is difficult to assess his actual level as he played very few games with us, but he was the best defender at the end of the season. We considered him as the cornerstone of our defence for this season.
“Regarding qualities, it’s quite simple. He is a physical beast, well aware of what his qualities are. He is average from a technical (on the ball/in possession) point of view, but is only 19 so he will improve.
“In a nutshell, he might not be good enough yet to play in the Premier League this season, but definitely has the potential to become a very reliable Premier League defender in the coming years.”
Le Guen only has six appearances in Ligue 1 to his name – all of which came last season – and interestingly made his debut in the division against Pierre Sage’s RC Lens side last term.
It still remains to be seen how much this move will cost Crystal Palace, but there is clearly no doubt that Matt Hobbs has managed to agree a deal with one of the biggest defensive talents in France.
There was some criticism aimed towards the Crystal Palace Sporting Director – including us – as underwhelming links to the likes of Axel Disasi emerged.
However, if Le Guen is the type of profile we’re going to be targeting this summer, it could yet prove to be a very exciting transfer window.
