Yannick Bolasie and Wilfried Zaha captivated Crystal Palace fans for a number of seasons with their highly entertaining style of play.
The wing wizards helped Crystal Palace reach the Premier League in 2013 by tormenting opposition defenders on a weekly basis, before also playing key roles as the Eagles reached an FA Cup final in 2016.
There is no doubt that Crystal Palace fans will remember the dynamic partnership of Wilfried Zaha and Yannick Bolasie for many years – but Dougie Freedman could now recreate that effective wing duo this summer…
Dougie Freedman could sign Yannick Bolasie and Wilfried Zaha 2.0 for Crystal Palace
Well, Crystal Palace are well known for embracing wingers and backing those who love to take on defenders – supporters rarely moan at those who try to excite and make things happen.
The Eagles have a rich history of daring wide men, with the likes of Victor Moses, Michael Olise, Vince Hilaire, John Salako and Wayne Routledge all getting the Selhurst Park faithful off their seats at times.
Now, Freedman could build another mercurial wing partnership, amid reports the Glaswegian wants to sign Jaden Philogene and Matias Soule from Hull City and Juventus respectively.
It was the South London Press who claimed that Crystal Palace are eyeing a move for the Hull City No.23 this summer – while Corriere dello Sport in Italy believe the Eagles want to sign the Argentinian wonderkid.
So, why could Philogene and Soule become the next Bolasie and Zaha? Let’s take a look…
Matias Soule and Jaden Philogene love to dribble
In that aforementioned 2012/13 promotion season, Zaha and Bolasie put their names up in lights with flamboyant tricks on a weekly basis.
Unfortunately, WhoScored did not take data from that campaign, but numbers were recorded from the 2014/15 campaign, when the pair reunited at Selhurst Park.
WhoScored shows that Zaha registered 2.8 dribbles per game in the Premier League that season, while Bolasie averaged 2.6 as the duo caused havoc, helping Crystal Palace record memorable wins over Manchester City and Tottenham, while we also did the double over Liverpool.
So far this season, Philogene has averaged 2.8 dribbles every 90 minutes in the Championship, while impressively scoring eight goals along with six assists in 25 appearances.
In regards to Soule, the South American registers 2.2 dribbles per game, and is more effective in terms of finishing with ten goals in 28 Serie A outings.
Evidently, the two Crystal Palace targets adopt similarly daring styles of play to Zaha and Bolasie.
If Freedman can pair the Argentine and the Englishman together at Selhurst Park this summer, they could become the next set of wingers to capture the imaginations of Crystal Palace fans.
