Crystal Palace appear ready to inject some urgency into their summer business, and they have set their sights on a perplexing target. According to exc...
Crystal Palace appear ready to inject some urgency into their summer business, and they have set their sights on a perplexing target. According to exclusive information gathered by GoalZaza, the Eagles are looking to beat Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen to the signature of Krepin Diatta. The Senegalese winger, recently of Monaco, is available on a free transfer, and that price tag is likely the primary attraction for a Palace side that usually shops with a calculator in one hand and a scouting report in the other.But let us be honest with ourselves. Why is a player who was once considered one of the more exciting prospects in Ligue Un suddenly available for nothing The answer lies in his output. The man is, to put it kindly, goal shy. His numbers in the final third have been nothing short of woeful for a winger of his supposed pedigree. He struggles with the final pass, his shot selection is often baffling, and for a wide player, his crossing accuracy leaves the centre forward with little to work on. You have to wonder what Oliver Glasner sees in him that the rest of European football has missed.This feels like an audition for a specific tactical role. Diatta is not your typical Premier League winger who will hug the touchline and run at the full back. He is more of a transitional threat, someone who can burst into space when the opposition leaves gaps. The problem, of course, is that he must then do something with the ball. If Palace are to break into the top half of the table with consistency, they need clinical finishing, not just impressive dribbling statistics.Beating Leverkusen to a player is never a bad thing, but you sense Xabi Alonso's side might be sniffing around for a different reason entirely, perhaps as a low cost option to fill out a European squad. Palace, on the other hand, seem to be offering Diatta a genuine chance to revive a stalled career. It is a gamble. A calculated, low risk punt on a player who has the raw physical tools but has yet to put them together in a productive way.If Glasern can unlock that final third composure, this could be the stealthy signing of the window. If not, he is just another name on a long list of wingers who had the pace but lacked the poise. The ball is in Diatta's court. And for once in his professional career, he needs to actually put it in the net.
