Crystal Palace are in the market for a centre-back and Tomas Araujo is a leading contender.
Joachim Andersen is set for a move to Fulham after Crystal Palace agreed to sell the Dane to the London rivals. It has since been reported that the motivation behind Andersen’s move is purely financial.
After this was reported, Crystal Palace moved swiftly to replace him, putting in a bid for Benfica’s Tomas Araujo.
Not to be content with just one possible replacement, the Eagles also lodged a £14m bid for Maxence Lacroix, a bid which we exclusively reported has been accepted.
Now, Benfica have reacted to the bid for Araujo.
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Benfica respond to Palace’s bid for Araujo
After Andersen’s move to Fulham became imminent, Araujo emerged as a real contender to be signed and despite Lacroix being close – it seems the Eagles are aiming for both.
According to the Portuguese outlet Record, the Eagles’ first bid for Araujo has since been rejected by Benfica.
Crystal Palace tabled an offer worth in the region of £25.4m, however, this was swiftly turned down by the Portuguese giants.
It is claimed that Benfica has zero intention of selling the player for less than his £84.9m release clause which lasts until 2028.
This however is a completely unrealistic figure.
Despite Araujo being a player Dougie Freedman has wanted for a long time, it seems that the Eagles could be priced out of a move.
Plenty of other options for Crystal Palace
While we were excited by the links to Araujo, the Eagles must ensure that he does not end up costing well above market value.
There is little doubt that he is a talent, but the entire model of Crystal Palace’s recruitment is on finding bargains to then turn into top-level players, so spending so much on a player who would be a huge risk does not fit.
There are plenty of other players right now in European football who could be far better value for money with the way Araujo’s asking price is inflating.
We are sure Freedman has a long list, so hopefully he goes back to it and finds an option that will not cost similar to what Andersen is being sold for.
