Crystal Palace showed great signs of improvement against Aston Villa on Saturday.
The Eagles picked up a decent point at Villa Park in testing circumstances, going up against a solid UEFA Champions League outfit without key men such as Eberechi Eze and Adam Wharton.
Ismaila Sarr in particular stepped up with a goal and an assist to secure the 2-2 draw, which still keeps us in 18th place at the time of writing.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 18 |  Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace | 12 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 17 | -7 | 8 |
Despite the improvement of Sarr, it would seem Oliver Glasner still wants a new attacker, with Dougie Freedman now plotting a second attempt to sign Rayan Cherki from Lyon.
Crystal Palace still want Rayan Cherki
A story from Alan Nixon now states that Crystal Palace remain keen on signing the Lyon No.18 – and will make a renewed bid for his signature in January with hope of John Textor aiding the deal.
Some may recall Crystal Palace tried to sign Cherki in the summer transfer window – as did Fulham – only for the France U21 international to end up signing a new contract.
However, Lyon have since been plunged into financial difficulty under Textor – who still wants to sell up at Crystal Palace – and find themselves provisionally relegated to Ligue 2 unless the American can improve their bank balance.
Nixon explains that Cherki could be sold for £20m to ease the situation for Lyon, with scouts from Crystal Palace in attendance to watch the Frenchman score in a 1-1 draw against Reims, who they feel is the missing link in attack at Selhurst Park.
Interestingly, the reliable journalist adds that Crystal Palace have checked on Oumar Diakite too – who also scored in Saturday’s Ligue 1 clash between Reims and Lyon.
Dougie Freedman would be making a special signing in Rayan Cherki
If Freedman can lure Cherki to SE25 this winter, he may even end up outdoing Michael Olise – he is that talented.
Cherki has even been compared to Eden Hazard – one of the greatest footballers of this generation – while his mesmeric dribbling ability has already made him a well known figure across Europe at the age of just 21.
Stylistically, the Lyon-born wonderkid would be ideal for Glasner’s system, as he also likes to cut inside from the right flank onto his stronger left foot, like a certain Olise enjoyed doing.
However, Cherki is also capable of playing centrally, so if Crystal Palace sign Romain Esse from Millwall – another target for Freedman who is similar to Olise – the pair could even play together.
