According to recent reports, Crystal Palace are considering making a loan move for Watford forward Gerard Deulofeu.
The reports by the Evening Standard claim that the 26-year-old is an ‘option’ for Palace, however, the winger is ‘not a priority as it stands’.
Would you be interested to see Palace make a move for Deulofeu this summer?
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Since arriving at Watford, in what was originally a loan deal before the Hornets made the deal an £11.70 million permanent one in the summer of 2018, the Spaniard has gone on to feature 70 times for the club, scoring 17 goals and providing 11 assists.
Last season, in which Watford were relegated to the Championship on the final day, Deulofeu scored four goals and provided five assists over his 28 Premier League appearances, averaging a WhoScored match rating of 6.90 – ranking him as the club’s third-best performer in the league.
It would appear from the reports that Palace are prioritising the signings of Brentford’s Ollie Watkins and Queens Park Rangers’ Eberechi Eze ahead of making a move for the £18 million-rated Deulofeu, however, with Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha once again being linked with a move away from the club this summer, it would very much seem as if the South London side have their eye on a number of potential replacements for the 27-year-old.
TIF Thoughts…
While both Watkins and Eze are indeed exciting prospects, with the 24-year-old Watkins scoring 26 goals and providing three assists and the 22-year-old Eze scoring 14 goals and providing eight assists in the Championship last term, neither of them, as yet, have any Premier League experience.
As such, considering the fact that Deulofeu has also spent time at Everton, where he scored eight goals and provided 19 assists in 75 appearances, prior to the two-years he has now been at Watford, the 26-year-old definitely does have Premier League experience, which could prove very useful to Palace, even if they do complete the signings of Watkins and Eze.