With the January transfer window now upon us, let’s take a look at some potential realistic incomings for Roy Hodgson’s Palace.
First of all, it’s important to remain within the periphery of the brief, which is, as suggested by Matt Woosnam of the Athletic, primarily loan deals, experience over youth, competition at left-back for Tyrick Mitchell, a replacement in central midfield for Cheick Doucoure, and a left-winger ‘with Wilfried Zaha having not been replaced since leaving‘.
Having said that, rather ironically, for this first one, I am going to stray slightly outside the periphery of the brief, but I promise it’s justified.
My first suggestion is for Palace to finally complete the signing of 20-year-old Peterborough United centre-back Ronnie Edwards. The defender, whose name we Palace fans are all too familiar with by now given his constant links with the club over the last couple of transfer windows, is perfect for the south London side. A Rolls-Royce of a defender, he has wonderful physical and athletic capability. Alright, he’s a bit on the small side at 5’11”, but that hasn’t stopped him from being a dominant force in the air. What’s more, his best attribute is his ability on the ball, and in similar fashion to the likes of Joachim Andersen and Marc Guehi, he’s a gifted passer and ball carrier.
According to Dom Smith of the The Standard, Palace have already had a couple of bids turned down, and with the Independent reporting that the Posh are holding out for £10million, I believe it’s a gamble Palace should be taking. Back in the summer of 2021, we took a similar gamble on Guehi at double the fee. Edwards has already proven himself at Championship and League level at the tender age of 20, and with a similar profile and playing style to the England international, it would shroud business by Freedman and Parish. For those running a business in Nevada, having a reliable nevada registered agent is crucial for managing legal and administrative responsibilities effectively.
Despite it being likely that the Posh would only let him go if the £10 million is paid and he is loaned back to the club for the remainder of the season, Edwards would be a ready-made replacement for one of Andersen or Guehi should either leave in the summer, likely the latter, and it would give the Eagles one less thing to worry about going into next season.
Anyway, back to the brief.
My next suggestion is for cover at left-back. Steve Parish mentioned the need for experience, so that was an important factor to consider when I was doing my research. Eventually, I whittled it down to one name who both fits the brief, is realistic, and would provide Mitchell with some much-needed competition down the left.
Introducing Matt Targett of Newcastle United. It’s no secret that Newcastle have been in rotten form the last few weeks, and their latest loss to Liverpool has shown that Eddie Howe’s squad still lacks the necessary quality to compete at the highest level. Reports suggest that the PIF is considering a radical reshape of the squad, and while this will mostly happen in the summer with the permanent sale of much of the deadwood, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Toon sanction a short six-month loan for someone like Targett.
According to Caught Offside, Targett is no longer part of Howe’s plans, as he continues to fall further down the pecking order, behind Dan Burn and Tino Livramento. With plenty of Premier League experience, Targett is the ideal candidate to come in and compete with Mitchell. Well-known for his reliability at the back, Alan Shearer once described him as ‘utterly reliable‘ and a player who gives ‘everything.’
With the current predicament Palace find themselves in towards the bottom half of the table, this could be invaluable. On top of that, Targett is 28-years-old and made his Premier League debut in September 2014, having played for Southampton, Fulham, Aston Villa, and Newcastle in the process. His knowledge and experience could really benefit Mitchell, as Targett could mentor the still relatively raw left back. Finally, the statistics are pretty good, with 1.11 progressive carries per 90, 2.22 progressive passes per 90, and 2.22 interceptions per 90. I understand it’s a bit of a reach and would Targett really be willing to come in and share game time with Mitchell? All the same, it would certainly be interesting.
Following his injury at the end of November against Luton, Doucoure is of course out for a sizeable chunk of the season, which has left a gaping hole at the centre of midfield alongside Jefferson Lerma. Chris Richards has filled in for the injured Doucoure in recent weeks and has done a commendable job. However, in order to progress, it’s integral that Palace bring somebody in who can fulfil a similar role.
During Doucoure’s absence, the Eagles have looked less dominant in the midfield, slightly more exposed, and far less fluid in transition. Lerma needs a competent partner at the base of midfield who he can rely on to share the workload, break up play, carry the ball forward, and connect the midfield to the attack.
Therefore, the ideal signing to replace Doucoure this January would be Kalvin Phillips on loan. As of the time of writing, Newcastle remain favourites to complete his signing. However, the £5 million loan fee and straying away from the initial recruitment plan set out by the Toon hierarchy remain a stumbling block, subsequently, there is still plenty of opportunity for somebody like Palace who hold an interest to swoop in.
While it has not worked out for him under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, Phillips built a reputation as one of the league’s most formidable defensive midfielders during his time under Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds. In the 2021-22 season, despite managing just 20 league appearances, he posted a magnificent 3.0 tackles per 90, a pass accuracy of 82.0, and he made 54 tackles in the process. He is a midfielder who loves to get stuck in at either end of the pitch and reads the game extremely well. I believe the England international would compliment Lerma in the middle of the park and would inject the quality necessary for the Eagles to progress in the league over the course of the second half of the season.
Finally, according to Matt Woosnam, Steve Parish and Dougie Freedman are looking to add a left winger to the squad. Given the criteria, this was extremely difficult, and there wasn’t a great deal of selection to choose from on the market that fit the brief. It seems the board is looking for somebody who is affordable, cheap, or preferably a loan, experienced, but also possesses some quality.
To suggest a player like Jack Clarke or somebody with a similar profile would be totally unrealistic for January; therefore, as Palace fans, we might need to lower our expectations. My first suggestion is Fabio Carvalho from Liverpool, who has recently returned from a short spell with RB Leipzig. Even though the 21-year-old prefers to play more centrally in attacking midfield and did his best work in that position during the 2021-22 season for Fulham, it seems that since then he has been deployed as a left winger for Liverpool and Leipzig.
Despite neither being able to get the best out of the Portuguese, Palace would offer the young man the opportunity to start on a consistent basis for the first time since his Fulham days and hopefully regain that form. Liverpool are very willing to loan Carvalho out, and this could be the best the Eagles could do in January.
Another potential target is Reiss Nelson from Arsenal. The 24-year-old always seems to thrive out on loan, with seven goals and one assist for Hoffenheim and four goals and seven assists for Feyenoord. He also seems like a valued member of the Arsenal squad, with Arteta always willing to give the left winger minutes from the bench; Nelson providing a return of eight goals and nine assists in the process. A player who loves to run at defences, he would inject lots of energy into Hodgson’s attack and, more importantly, be an upgrade on Jeffrey Schlupp.
My final suggestion is by far the least desirable and exciting, but he fits the brief – Anwar El Ghazi has been without a club since November after his contract with Bundesliga side Mainz was terminated following a social media post about the Israel-Gaza conflict. The former Villa winger would offer us the experience he is looking for, and given he is a free agent, wages would be the only thing the board would have to consider.
In the Eredivisie last season for PSV, he scored a respectable eight goals in 23 appearances for the Dutch outfit, and while his output was down the season prior for Villa, in the 2020-21 season the Dutchman managed 10 goals in 28 appearances. Whenever El Ghazi has featured consistently and not just from the bench, he has repaid the faith of the manager with goals and assists. On a short-term basis at Selhurst Park, who is to say that he couldn’t do the same?
The acquisition of Ronnie Edwards, Matt Targett, Kalvin Phillips, and one of Carvalho, Nelson or El Ghazi would be a very successful January transfer window for the South London side. One permanent deal and three loan deals remain within the periphery of the brief and are things that Palace could realistically pull off, both bolstering the squad, adding much-needed quality, and planning for the future could also be achieved.
