Alan Pardew had a good start to the previous season as he helped his Palace side maintain a place in the top half of the table halfway through the season. However a drastic dip in form in the second half saw the team go close to the bottom of the table come the end of the season. The team managed to stay in the top-flight for the next season and are now looking to improve their squad to better their finish from the previous season.
The manager has already let a number of players leave the club which includes Emmanuel Adebayor, Marouane Chamakh and Dwight Gayle among well-known players. However, he has also added the likes of Andros Townsend and James Tomkins along with Steve Mandanda to help him improve the quality of the squad as a whole. But this is not even close to the end of the business at the Selhurst Park with the manager still looking to add some more players to have a better chance of competing with the best in the league next season.
And one player who is now extensively linked with a move to Palace this summer is West Bromwich Albion winger Saido Berahino. The 22-year old attacker was one of the best players in the Premier League in the 14-15 season where he scored 20 goals for the Baggies in all competitions. However, he was not able to impress the manager last season and managed to score just 4 goals, slowly falling out of favor at the club.
It is reported that he wants to move away this season and Crystal Palace are one of the few teams who have their eye on him. It was revealed that Palace’s bid for the 22-year-old was £20m plus £3m in add-ons, but was rejected by the Hawthorns outfit who are demanding a higher fee for the attacker. But what does Berahino provide Palace with? Is he worth splashing the cash?
As already mentioned, Berahino was a super hit in his first full season in England where he scored in double digits and is a player who can do that consistently given enough game time under the belt. At Palace, Pardew likes his team to stay compact in defense but turn defense into attack smoothly. This is where the 22-year old will be handy. Even at his age, Berahino has loads of experience in his time as a youth player is a player who is comfortable and confident with the ball. He will be played as a winger or as an attacker and his job will be to use his pace and dribbling abilities to carry the team up the pitch when under pressure.
He is a player who can make things happen and though he is not the best in his position, he is more than capable of improving the Palace squad and helping them beat smaller opponents in the league. Pardew will realistically be looking to keep the club close to the top half of the table come the end of the next season but if Berahino makes the move and settles in, the manager can easily aim for a finish close to the European spots. However, it looks like they will have to splash the cash to get their man.
