West Ham United could be one of the teams to watch out for in the upcoming season as they have made some massive acquisitions in the transfer market. However, that doesn’t bode well for the current players as some of them could be expected to be sold as the club tries to balance its book. One of them who could be offloaded in the summer is Senegalese midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate who is being linked with a move to Crystal Palace.
The reports suggest that both the parties are already in talks regarding the sale of the player and the Hammers are valuing the 28-year-old midfielder around £10m. Given the current market situation, the Eagles shouldn’t have any qualms in paying such an amount for a player who has a decent amount of experience in the Premier League.
The defensive midfielder has still three years left on his contract at the London Stadium. Signing him will be a massive boost for Roy Hodgson as the club has lost the services of midfielder Yohan Cabaye and they are looking for a strong midfield partner to Luka Milivojevic. Kouyate has turned up late to the Hammers preseason camp due to the fact that he was part of the World Cup squad of Senegal.
The Senegalese has the experience of playing over 120 games in the Premier League and he will be a decent bet for the Eagles as they look to improve from last season’s performances. Roy Hodgson did a terrific job in taking the team to safety with relative comfort as they finished 11th while at the start of the season, they were pointless in their first seven games.
Kouyate’s job will be to do the nitty gritty stuff in the middle of the park as Hodgson tries to bring more coverage to his defensive line. The midfielder also has a bursting run in him which makes it hard for the opponents to stop him. He was regular for the East London outfit last season as he made 37 appearances in all competitions.
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Pellegrini is looking to sign more players this summer, however, he will have to finance the new moves with the sale of his current players. This could be a good chance for Hodgson to add a defensive shield for his backline in the transfer market as Kouyate can form a decent partnership with Milivojevic given his capabilities and experience.
