Crystal Palace are now close to missing out on a player Oliver Glasner “really wants” Dougie Freedman to sign this summer.
Crystal Palace have already agreed personal terms with Ismaila Sarr – as talks continue with Marseille over a fee – but in the meantime, another target looks set to move elsewhere.
So, who are Crystal Palace close to missing out on? Let’s take a look…
Crystal Palace set to miss out on Emile Smith Rowe as Fulham close in
A story from The Athletic now claims that Fulham are close to signing Emile Smith Rowe.
The Cottagers are in advanced talks with Arsenal over a £35m deal for the England international – who was left out of Thursday’s friendly against Bournemouth by Mikel Arteta as an exit nears.
It comes after Fabrizio Romano claimed that Glasner “really wants” Crystal Palace to sign Smith Rowe this summer.
The Athletic mention that the Arsenal No.10 is also a target for Crystal Palace in their story, but Fulham have “manoeuvred” themselves into pole position ahead of the Eagles.
Last season, the man from Croydon – aged 23 – made 19 appearances in all competitions, failing to score while providing two assists.
Crystal Palace did see a bid rejected for Smith Rowe – the sum was undisclosed – but decided against making an improved offer.
Good news
In our view, spending £35m on Smith Rowe is madness when you consider his injury history, and Crystal Palace have potentially dodged a bullet as Fulham close in.
The Arsenal academy graduate has missed 132 games across the last five seasons due to injuries, spending a total of 609 days on the sidelines.
| Season | Days | Injuries | Games missed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23/24 | 46 days | 2 | 10 |
| 22/23 | 121 days | 1 | 21 |
| 20/21 | 91 days | 1 | 30 |
| 19/20 | 141 days | 2 | 36 |
| 18/19 | 210 days | 4 | 35 |
We have already been stung once in recent times when spending £26m on Mamadou Sakho, a man who was imperious at the back when fit, but missed a total of 92 games at Crystal Palace as he struggled to avoid injuries.
Availability is the best trait a footballer can have, and it would have been a huge gamble to splash a club-record £35m sum on Smith Rowe without any guarantees that he could start on a weekly basis under Glasner.
READ MORE: Why Wilfried Zaha might now feel quite upset about news coming from Crystal Palace
Hopefully, Fulham wrap up this deal soon, and Freedman can focus on more sensible targets.
