Crystal Palace’s transfer pursuit of Lille OSC defender, Ibrahim Amadou took a huge blow when the Ligue 1 side rejected their £16m bid. Palace had expressed interests previously also but might not be able to go higher than their recent offer and will have to look elsewhere.
Amadou is a centre-back by trade and has appeared in 22 games for the side. He is a key figure in the Lille starting XI and could have played a similar role with the Eagles. Roy Hodgson reinvigorated their dying campaign by going on a run of games without a loss. They are currently in the 13th spot of the points table and the squad is stretched thin with injury woes.
Scott Dann has been ruled out for the season along with Jason Puncheon after the 0-0 draw to Manchester City. Mamadou Sakho has been absent with a calf injury for almost two months now and this is a cause for concern at Selhurst Park.
Fighting your way out of relegation is always an ugly battle and even though Palace are three points clear from the bottom three, a drop in form will drop right back to where they were earlier. Hodgson has faced a whole lot of struggle to improve Christian Benteke’s goal scoring record. He is also worried about the inconsistencies of both Julian Speroni and Wayne Hennessey in between the sticks. As seen in their 4-1 loss to Arsenal last weekend, the defensive pairing of James Tomkins and Martin Kelly has shown signs of vulnerability and the club needs to pursue a defensive addition for the remainder of the season. If they are ready to splash £16m for a defender, a few candidates can be considered by Hodgson.
Abdou Diallo
The 21-year-old Mainz player has been in prolific form and has cemented a spot in the Mainz first team with 18 appearances this season.
Diallo has featured for youth sides of France national team ranging from the U16s to the U21s. The Tours-born centre-defenders is one of the hottest young prospects in the Ligue 1 and can turn out to be a key figure in Palace ranks.
Ezri Konsa
Konsa has been capped at international level for the England U20 side four times and has won the 2017 FIFA U20 World Cup in South Korea. He is one of the brightest prospects in the country who deserves a call-up to the big leagues.
He currently plies his trade for League One side, Charlton Athletic and is valued at £8m by the Addicks.
Scott McKenna
Currently, the Aberdeen player is targeted by Aston Villa to provide them solidarity in the backline. Given his ability to keep his side out of harm’s way, the Scottish player can be a good option for Hodgson to bolster his defence.
