ESPN commentator Herculez Gomez has claimed that Haji Wright ‘needs’ a move to Crystal Palace in the January transfer window.
Patrick Vieira’s side is said to be interested in the player, but Brentford have made an offer for Wright, according to Tom Bogert.
The American currently plays his football out in Turkey with Antalyaspor and has 10 league goals from 16 games this season, he also has seven caps for the United States and was selected for their World Cup squad.
At 24 years old, the forward is already well-travelled in his footballing career, having also played in Germany, the Netherlands and America.
Speaking to ESPN, Gomez claims it would be a ‘win-win’ if Palace landed Wright and it would be a ‘massive platform’ for the striker to prove himself.
He stated: “I’m looking at the amount of goals that Crystal Palace has scored this year. They’ve scored like 17 goals, mid-table team, not scored very many goals, they have a need for a goalscorer. If anything, he is a goal scorer.
“There are certain parts of his game that I want to see him do better with, test himself – and the Premier League is one of those places.
“Patrick Vieira is not going to be the guy that lets you not work, to let you not better yourself. I think he needs this. If he can get himself on a team like Crystal Palace and do well, it’s a win-win. It’s a massive platform for him, it’s a big club in terms of fanbase, in terms of visibility. I think it’s a situation that’s badly needed for the USMNT and badly needed for Haji Wright.”
TIF’s view on Gomez’s comments…
We believe that if Wright were to move to Palace he’d be managed by an exciting boss in Vieira, he’s utilised some of the club’s younger players very well.
Tyrick Mitchell has risen through the ranks at Selhurst Park and has been on their books since he was part of their under-18s, the 23-year-old has already played 82 times in all competitions for the Eagles.
Another is Michael Olise who they signed from Reading back in 2021, the 21-year-old winger has played 5o times for Palace since making the switch.
Wright may see a move to the Premier League as the next logical step after playing football in a couple of other European countries and may be attracted to the idea of playing under Vieira.
The striker is the second-joint top scorer in the Turkish league, only ex-West Ham United man Enner Valencia has more goals than him.
With Palace struggling to get goals in the Premier League, they could well turn to Wright to be the solution to their problem.