Crystal Palace supporters in the Transfer Tavern are eagerly anticipating the 2018/19 Premier League campaign, what with their team seeking to improve upon their solid 11th place finish last time round.
The Eagles were in disarray at the start of the season in losing each of their opening seven league matches, with Frank de Boer sacked as manager after just the first four. And while Roy Hodgson failed to win any of his opening three games, the ex-England boss then led the club to 44 points from their final 31 Premier League matches of the campaign, eventually finishing 11th in the division and 11 points clear of the bottom three.
Thus, there are many excited and indeed expectant Palace fans up and down the country, several of whom are likely to be interested by reports linking their side with a move for Liverpool’s Marko Grujic.
The midfielder spent the second half of last season on loan at Championship club Cardiff City and played a part in helping Neil Warnock’s side earn promotion to the top-flight, scoring once in 14 games for the South Wales outfit.
And the 22-year-old could well be set for his first proper stint at Premier League level given the interest from Hodgson’s Palace, but with the Eagles somewhat struggling in the middle of the park, it would be a big risk to land Grujic given he has just eight top tier appearances to his name.
In fact, Palace should forget about the midfielder, and instead seek to land one of these TWO Liverpool stars this summer…
Simon Mignolet may not have fully convinced during his time at Anfield, but there is little doubting that the Belgium international is hugely adept goalkeeper at Premier League level.
The 30-year-old earned a move to Liverpool back in 2013 after excelling between the sticks at Sunderland, which itself underlines the fact that, maybe out of the spotlight and thus not under pressure to perform at a world class level, the shot-stopper is indeed a reliable goalkeeper in the top-flight.
And with Wayne Hennessey not always convincing during his time at Selhurst Park, alongside the fact that Julian Speroni turned 39 in May, Hodgson could well consider bolstering his goalkeeping department – Mignolet would be a useful addition in that quest.
Palace’s striking problems were well documented last season and none-more-so evident than when Wilfried Zaha and Andros Townsend led the line for the Eagles, which could well prompt Hodgson to move for another forward this summer.
And with Danny Ings reportedly available for transfer after a testing time at Liverpool, he could well be the ideal addition.
The 25-year-old has managed just 25 appearances for the Reds since moving there from Burnley back in 2015, with injuries savaging his time at Anfield.
Yet he earned a move to the Reds as a result of excelling for the Clarets in the 2014/15 campaign, and given he appears to be back to full fitness having appeared occasionally in Jurgen Klopp’s team last season, he could well be back at that level ahead of the new season.
As such, Palace must seek to lure him to Selhurst Park in a bid to significantly improve their forward ranks.
