According to a recent report, Crystal Palace have made an enquiry about Lyon forward, Bertrand Traore.
The report in Foot Mercato states that the 24-year-old, who joined Lyon from Chelsea for a fee of £9 million back in 2017, is ‘not really indispensable’ in the opinion of Lyon manager, Rudi Garcia, with several European clubs, including Real Betis, Newcastle United and Bayer Leverkusen, as well as Crystal Palace, all being keen on the forward.
However, the south London club potentially holds a better hand than the other interested parties, as Lyon are also reportedly interested in Palace centre-back, Mamadou Sakho – with the report by Foot Mercato suggesting that the defender could be used as leverage in any deal for Traore.
TIF Thoughts…
Often utilised on the wing for Lyon this season, Traore’s direct involvement in goals has not been overly impressive, scoring just once and providing three assists over his 23 appearances in Ligue 1.
In the Champions League, the Burkina Faso international, who is valued at £8.55 million (as per Transfermarkt), managed just one further goal, in addition to another two goals in the Coupe de la Ligue – taking his total to four goals and three assists this season.
However, despite this apparent lack of end product, his match ratings have been surprisingly impressive, as, in the league, the forward averaged a very respectable 6.95 WhoScored match rating, as well as a slightly more average 6.79 rating in the Champions League.
Would you like to see a swap deal involving Sakho and Traore?
Yes
No
As such, should Palace be successful in their reported attempts to sign the £8.55 million-rated player, it would seem as if they would be gaining a relatively consistent performer, with Champions League experience, and, although it would appear he does not always chip in with a hat-full of goals or assists, he still appears to have the ability to influence a game from a wide position.