Journalist claims Crystal Palace ‘in talks’ to sign £25m ace who can play at RB

News from journalist Mike McGrath has claimed that Crystal Palace are negotiating a deal to sign a very versatile defender this summer.

Crystal Palace need to make some reinforcements as their squad is not as strong as it was last season. It looks like they are finally starting to get a move on in the transfer window.

Journalist for The Telegraph Mike McGrath reported on this latest target for the Eagles.

He said: “Crystal Palace in talks over deal for Bayer Leverkusen centre-back Odilon Kossounou. The Ivory Coast international is wanted on initial loan with and obligation to buy from 24/25”.

Although Koussounou is predominantly a centre-back, he has also featured a fair bit as a right-back and can also play as a defensive midfielder.

Previous reports have suggested Kossounou’s price tag is around £25million. In addition, he was apparently a ‘top target’ for Arsenal back in 2021.

Crystal Palace in talks to sign Kossounou

This transfer news around Palace has come out of nowhere. The defender is definitely someone who adds a lot of quality to the squad.

Arguably, the right-backs at Palace are not good enough at this current time. Due to this the fact that the club are signing a young defender who can play in that position is great news.

The centre-back would also add some squad depth to his more predominant position. It seems like Palace could also be preparing for the future by trying to sign the 22 year-old.

Palace defenders Marc Guehi and Joachim Andersen have both been reportedly attracting interest. It would be very hard to keep the two for multiple seasons so bring in someone like Kossounou seems like a great idea.

With the competition in the Premier League very strong, it is good to see that Palace are looking to make more signings before the season starts.

It would be great if Roy Hodgson could be treated to a strong squad before they play their first game so that the team can be fully prepared.

More so, the defender has played in the Champions League already so looks to have lots of potential.