According to recent reports, Crystal Palace have made Ryan Fraser part of their ‘recruitment plans’ this summer, regardless of whether or not Wilfried Zaha remains at the club.
The report in The Telegraph states that Fraser, who is a free agent after refusing a short-term contract extension to complete the season at the Vitality Stadium, could be part of Roy Hodgson’s summer transfer plans – regardless of whether or not Wilfried Zaha leaves the club over the transfer window, with Hodgson admitting the 27-year-old’s form had ‘been affected by speculation of a departure‘.
Zaha had been linked with moves to Arsenal and Everton last summer, with Crystal Palace then demanding a fee of around £80 million for the Ivory Coast international.
However, it is not believed that the south London side will be able to ask for anywhere near that figure for the winger this time around, due to the impact of the pandemic on the financial health of football clubs.
Meanwhile, Fraser is believed to be ‘a good value signing’, largely due to the fact that there would be ‘no transfer fee’ for the 26-year-old Scotland international.
TIF Thoughts…
While Fraser had a relatively quiet season for Bournemouth this term, featuring 28 times in the Premier League, scoring one goal and providing four assists, the winger had admitted that he ‘didn’t play for the team‘ for large parts of the season due to his contract situation at the club.
As such, if Palace do make a move for the 26-year-old, they will likely be hoping that he can replicate his form from the 2018/19 campaign, in which the Scotsman scored seven goals and provided a remarkable 14 assists, averaging a WhoScored match rating of 7.08.
Would you like to see Fraser move to Palace?
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Either way, we are of the belief that Fraser would be a good signing for Palace, particularly as there will be no transfer fee involved.