Crystal Palace scouts are keeping an eye on a “freak of nature” midfielder ahead of the summer transfer window opening, according to a former high level scout.
Crystal Palace news and updates
The Eagles suffered a disappointing result at home to Everton on Sunday, but with them only sitting nine points behind eighth place Fulham and having a fifth round FA Cup tie to look forward to, there is still a lot for Palace to play for this season.
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As Oliver Glasner will be focusing on the matters on the pitch, there will also be conversations about plans for current Palace players and what they want to do in the summer transfer window. It was reported last week that Glasner is pushing the club to hold contract talks with striker Jean Philippe-Mateta, as he wants them to secure his long-term future at Selhurst Park.
In transfer news, it’s also been reported that Palace are interested in signing SC Freiburg midfielder Merlin Rohl. The 22-year-old is said to have a £10 million price tag, but Palace are not alone in their pursuit, as Newcastle United, Liverpool and Everton are also interested in signing the attacking midfielder.
Crystal Palace scouts keeping a close eye on £20m gem
Rohl is not the only midfielder on Palace’s radar, according to the club’s former scout, Mick Brown, who has told Football Insider that Crystal Palace scouts are keeping an eye on Sunderland midfielder Jobe Bellingham.
Brown, who has worked at top-level player recruitment for over a decade, believes Sunderland will listen to offers for Bellingham, and they will let him go if they get the right price, as several teams keep an eye on him throughout this campaign.
“I think Sunderland would let him go if they got a good price for him,” Brown told Football Insider. “Especially if they don’t get promoted this season, they’re going to listen to offers. It feels to me like they’re short of a couple of real top-class players.
“You’ve got the goalkeeper who’s not bad; he’s promising, and then you get Rigg, who’s the same. Then you’ve got Bellingham, and there have been questions about whether he’s good enough to make that step up at this point. Crystal Palace and Tottenham have had scouts watching him this season, so they’ll be two of the teams in the running if he is going to leave.
“So, it’ll be up to them to assess whether he’s ready to make that jump. From a Sunderland point of view, knowing the way the owners want to operate, I think if they get a huge bid for him, then they’ll let him go.”
Bellingham, who has been described as a “freak of nature” by teammate Dan Neil, has scored four goals and recorded three assists in 28 Championship games, as the Black Cats look to finish the season in the play-offs at the very least.
Palace are not unknown for looking into the Championship for their next star player, as they recently brought Adam Wharton to Selhurst Park from Blackburn Rovers, and he has turned into an excellent investment. The Eagles may be willing to do the same again, and it could cost them £20 million to get a deal for Bellingham over the line.
