Sam Allardyce is looking to find a solution to his team’s pathetic defending in new signings. He has already brought in Leicester City side back Jeffery Schlupp this month and is apparently close to signing Arsenal failure Carl Jenkinson to the squad, who is a full-back. Eagles are also linked with a move for Jose Fonte and the latest name to have emerged is Sevilla’s defensive midfielder Vicente Iborra, as per reports.
Palace fans have seen some atrocious defending this season, with their team conceding a whopping 40 goals already in mid-season. They are currently one point and one position above the relegation zone and if they continue playing the way they have done, relegation is a huge possibility.
A change in the management hasn’t yet helped evidently and with some key players leaving midseason for their national duties at African Cup of Nations, it has further worsened their run. The weakest link in the team in undoubtedly their collective defensive failure and their next target looks like a perfect choice to end the crisis.
At 29, Iborra is an exemplary leader from the anchor position in the midfield, who starred in Sevilla’s win over Real Madrid last Sunday, which broke Zinedine Zidane’s 40 games unbeaten run. The win also took them to within a point’s gap with the Los Blancos and second in the La Liga table.
SunSport have reported that Crystal Palace have met with the player and his representatives and offered a lucrative deal for a move to the Premier League this month. And apparently, the former Levante man has got his wish as a fee of around £12million is close to being agreed.
In his 14 appearances, Iborra has scored three goals this season, creating three chances. He has completed 354 passes with a pass accuracy of 85%, of which 74% were forward passes. His shielding abilities have come to the fore and he can burst forward as well.
However, although the midfielder has been keen on moving to England in the Premier League after spending three seasons in La Liga with Sevilla and achieving an incredible feat of three Europa League wins, a move to a side who are unsure of surviving relegation is definitely not what he aimed at.
This is not the first time he has been linked with an English club. A move to Sunderland for Iborra fell through at the last moment last summer and West Bromwich Albion were also monitoring his situation a year ago but failed to conclude a deal for the midfielder.
Getting him will undoubtedly be a level up for Crystal Palace and their bid also indicates their ambitions, but a move is quite unlikely at the moment especially when the Spanish side have a real chance of winning the La Liga this season.
