Crystal Palace could take advantage of West Ham when it comes to the summer transfer market.
The Guardian believe the Hammers will need to raise at least £100m in sales should they be relegated, which could happen on Tuesday night if Tottenham avoid defeat at Stamford Bridge.
There are many talented players at the London Stadium – such as Jarrod Bowen and Mateus Fernandes – but we think El Hadji Malick Diouf could be somebody Steve Parish targets should West Ham go down.
Who should we be looking to keep around? 📝
Why El Hadji Malick Diouf to Crystal Palace could happen
For a start, the Eagles – who want Andoni Iraola to replace Oliver Glasner – have already done plenty of homework on the Senegal international.
Clubs do not usually submit a bid for a player unless they are utterly convinced, so it was telling that Crystal Palace offered £12.5m to sign Diouf from Slavia Prague as recently as January 2025 – according to the Standard.
At the time, TBR Football were told the Senegalese star wanted to see out the season with Slavia Prague – so the Eagles took Ben Chilwell on loan from Chelsea instead – but it was West Ham who eventually secured a £19m agreement in July 2025.
The Hammers could boast a strong relationship with Slavia Prague after previous deals involving Vladimir Coufal and Tomas Soucek, while the departure of Aaron Cresswell meant West Ham were able to promise Diouf an immediate role in the starting XI, whereas he would have needed to compete against Tyrick Mitchell in SE25.
Now – however – the West Ham No.12 is set to be back on the market this summer should the east Londoners be relegated, just 18 months after that £12.5m bid from Crystal Palace.
Who is your DREAM signing? ⭐️
Borna Sosa has been a poor addition and has largely struggled to deputise effectively for Mitchell this term, so this is a deal we can see Parish and Matt Hobbs chasing – unless another Premier League side blows Crystal Palace out of the water completely with a bid of £30m or more.
