Crystal Palace are currently going through a crisis. The Eagles became the first team in the Premier League history who haven’t scored a goal in their first five matches and lost them all too. Frank de Boer was relieved of his duties following the poor showings and the Palace hierarchy brought in veteran Roy Hodgson but things haven’t changed as they failed to muster a single goal against Southampton.
Crystal Place are gearing up for the challenge and have reportedly turned their attention to Besiktas forward Cenk Tosun. The 26-year old’s birthplace is in Germany but opted to play for Turkey at the International level. He fired Besiktas to the Turkish League title last season as he found the net 24 times.
Palace have been courting the player for quite a while and could have had the player had they made a bid a few days earlier. The Eagles tried to sign the forward in a last-gasp attempt on the deadline day but it was too late for them and the deal couldn’t be done.
However, they will come back with a better offer in January and have to make it sure they are on time to conclude a deal for the player. Palace made a one-time offer of €11m but it got rejected as the Turkish club were holding for as much as €15m.
Hodgson’s side is calling for goals which are yet to come this season. Christian Benteke has failed to take the workload while Connor Wickham is out with a ligament injury.
Palace didn’t spend much in the summer transfer window so they do have the financial muscle to flex in the coming transfer window. Hodgson doesn’t seem to be impressed with the attacking players at his disposal and a move for the 26-year-old striker looks imminent.
With five losses in five matches relegation is looming large and if Hodgson wants to turn things around he needs to invest heavily.
Tosun came through the levels at Eintracht Frankfurt and also represented Germany at various youth levels.
But he changed his mind and decided to switch his allegiance to Turkey and he already has 21 senior caps under his belts scoring six times for them. He has won back to back titles with Benfica and his winning mentality is what Hodgson is badly needed at this moment.
Newcastle United are also keeping a tab on the player and if Palace want to grab the forward they might have to fight it out with the Magpies.
