Reports have surfaced that Crystal Palace are ready to place a £7m bid for Peterborough United striker, Jack Marriott to address the goal scoring woes of Christian Benteke for the remainder of the season. Even though Marriott has been pegged as a long-term investment, an immediate insertion of a proven goalscorer is highly necessary for the final stretch of the current campaign in order to escape relegation.
Crystal Palace are currently monitoring the situation of Peterborough United striker Jack Marriott. Reports indicate that #cpfc are preparing a bid of £7 million for the in-form #pufc man.
— The 4th Official (@Official_T4O) January 21, 2018
Marriott hails from the youth setup of Ipswich Town and made his professional debut on 4th May 2013 in the side’s 2-0 away defeat to Burnley. The 23-year-old was highly praised by the youth team coach for his strength and remarkable goalscoring instincts. He developed his games with a number of loan spells away from the club and went on to sign with League Two side, Luton Town in the summer of 2015.
It was at Luton where Marriott finally found his feet in front of goal with an impressive debut season scoring 16 goals in 44 appearances. But the Beverley-born forward’s resurgence to stardom in the lower division can be attributed to his prolific run of form this season. Scouts from all over the country have noticed his 24 goal tally over the past 6 months, and it looks like a call-up to the big times was imminent.
Crystal Palace’s shambolic start to the 2017/18 campaign has been resurrected in recent times under the guidance of former England coach, Roy Hodgson. The Eagles are currently enjoying a run in the 13th spot of the points table 3 points above the bottom three even after falling victim to a 4-1 thrashing from Arsenal at the Emirates last Saturday.
Hodgson has instilled a significant amount of inspiration into the Palace squad who almost snatched three points away from league leaders, Manchester City in their last game of 2017. But even though the side has seen a certain amount of defensive restructuring their ability to find the back of the net has struggled over the season. First team striker, Christian Benteke has registered just one goal this season and the Belgian’s incompetence is starting to frustrate the fans at Selhurst Park.
Even though are not in the relegation zone, the London-based club is in no way out of the gruelling final battle just yet. Marriott’s arrival can provide them with the necessary attacking threat to make the final push towards the end of the season. However, the real question lies in whether the bosses of Crystal Palace are willing to rival the interests of other Premier League and Championship sides to sign the Posh wonderboy.
