According to Sky Sports, Crystal Palace winger Andros Townsend could be set to leave Selhurst Park this summer. The England international is being heavily linked with a move to fellow Premier League side Newcastle United, and were the 26-year-old to indeed make his way to the North East, the Eagles must seek to replace him with Middlesbrough sensation Adama Traore.

The Breakdown

Ultimately, while Townsend didn’t exactly pull any trees down last season, the winger was hugely influential in netting twice and laying on eight assists for Roy Hodgson’s side, thus contributing more assists than any other Palace player last term.

And given how well he led the line for the London-based outfit last season alongside Wilfried Zaha, what with Palace struggling for out-and-out strikers over the course of the campaign, the 26-year-old will certainly need replacing if Hodgson is to indeed take the club forward this time round.

And while 22-year-old Traore found life in the top-flight difficult for Middlesbrough in the 2016/17 campaign, his efforts last term suggest that he is beginning to translate his undoubted talent into direct contributions in the final third of the pitch.

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The Spain Under-21 international was often Boro’s go-to man during their relegation campaign in the top tier, yet the tricky winger failed to net at all in 27 Premier League appearances, and only laid on one assist.

And while those figures are likely to seriously concern our resident Palace fans, they can take great comfort from his efforts last time round in the Championship, with Traore netting five times and laying on ten assists to help Tony Pulis’ men reach the play-offs, in which they lost to Steve Bruce’s Aston Villa.

Thus, while not in the top-flight, the 22-year-old found a level of consistency in his performances that hadn’t necessarily been seen in his Middlesbrough career to date, perhaps suggesting that he is beginning to find his feet in English football, and thus is ready to finally fulfil his undoubted potential.

And in a Palace side eyeing the next level under Hodgson this season, the Spaniard could certainly flourish, and as such may go some way to minimising the impact felt by the seemingly likely departure of Townsend.

As such, the Eagles must seek to replace the linked-away Englishman with the £7.2 million-rated Boro sensation (as per Transfermarkt) this summer.

Palace fans… what do you think? Let us know!