According to latest reports, 26-year old Brazilian Lucas Lima would be the main target for Crystal Palace once again in January as Alan Pardew plans to reinforce his attacking midfield position. Palace scouted the player and wanted to bring him to Selhurst Park in the summer but failed to get the deal done on deadline day.
Palace has had a decent start to the season with 11 points from their 7 games and currently lie in the 8th place of the Premier League table. There are some areas which needs strengthening according to the manager and one of them is the attacking midfield apparently.
Lucas Lima in many ways can be an excellent signing for the Eagles. Having started his professional senior career at Internacional, in 2012, the 26-year old caught the eye when he was sent on loan to the Brazil Serie B club Sport Recife where he featured 53 times in 2013 scoring 9 goals.
The year 2014 proved to be crucial for the player as he secured a move to Brazil Serie A club Santos where he has truly excelled for the last two seasons. In his first season at the club, Lima had 34 appearances in the league with 32 starts and scored 3 goals and 6 assists and helped his team win the Campeonato Paulista in the process, earning his place in the team of the year of the competition and a call up to the international squad as well.
The 2015/16 season was even better, with the player scoring 4 times and providing 6 assists in 31 games of the Brazilian Serie A, Lucas helped Santos FC retain their title of the Campeonato Paulista. The brilliant displays of the midfielder earned him another place at the Campeonato Paulista team of the year alongside the wonderful recognition of being the best player of the competition as well.
A player who has exceptional dribbling skills and is a wonderfully creative attacking midfielder who also works hard in the defensive phase, the Santos FC man is a someone who has the qualities to come good for any team never mind Crystal Palace.
Since his call-up to the Brazil national team, the midfielder has made 12 appearances and was a part of the Copa America Centenario squad. Lucas Lima scored against Haiti in the group stage match as well, which was his second goal, the first being scored against rivals Argentina in the 2018 world cup qualifiers. Having a growing reputation in his home country, it would be the next step for the player to make a move to Europe to test his skills further.
While Crystal Palace is a tempting destination offering Premier League exposure, there is also an offer on the table from Chinese Super League outfit Hebei Fortune, who can overpower any deal with huge amounts of money having the financial muscle. Crystal Palace will have to battle hard to secure the player’s signature and if they can do it successfully then they will have a player in their team who can provide the flair and creativity needed in the attacking midfield for the Eagles.
