Why Adama Soumaoro would be a good signing for Crystal Palace
Back in July 2019, a report from French outlet Voix du Nord (h/t Liverpool Echo) had claimed that Crystal Palace were interested in signing centre-back Adama Soumaoro from LOSC Lille. However, a move to English football never quite materialised and the defender ended up staying put at the Ligue 1 club, despite struggling for game time.
Profile
Adama Soumaoro rose through the youth ranks of Lille and made his first-team breakthrough in the French top-flight during the 2013-14 season. He established himself as a regular fixture in 2015-16 and continued to feature regularly until the end of the 2018-19 campaign.
However, injuries coupled with new arrivals at the club gradually pushed him down the pecking order. Soumaoro was loaned out to Serie A club Genoa in January 2020 after making only 10 appearances during the first half of the 2019-20 campaign. The defender featured 8 times in all competitions over the course of his loan spell in Italy before returning to Lille this past summer.
The 28-year-old has continued to struggle for regular minutes this season following his return to France. Soumaoro has managed only 5 appearances in all competitions for Lille this term so far. The Frenchman, though, boasts a decent CV in his club career, having featured 124 times for Lille so far.
Soumaoro would offer Palace more stability at the back
Crystal Palace have made a decent start to the campaign that has seen them accumulate 18 points from 14 games so far. The Eagles have conceded 25 goals in the league, which is pretty bad considering they’ve scored only 19 goals. Though a major portion of the 25 we’re conceded against Liverpool in the 7-0 thrashing, the fact is that Crystal Palace could use defensive reinforcements.
Roy Hodgson should look at the January window as a real opportunity to reshape his backline with one eye on the future. Gary Cahill (34), Scott Dann (33), Mamadou Sakho (30), Patrick van Aanholt (30), Joel Ward (31) and Martin Kelly (30) are all out of contract in the summer.
Sam Woods and Tyrick Mitchell are also nearing the last six months of their contracts and with no new deals forthcoming for the youngsters, Palace might as well line up some alternatives in the market. It is clear that the club will find it very hard to tie all the aforementioned players down to new deals. Hence, there is a good chance that the Eagles will need some fresh faces at the back.
Palace making a renewed attempt to sign Adama Soumaoro in January would represent an effective solution to stabilise their backline for several seasons moving forward. The Frenchman might not be among the most high-profile players in France but has more than enough experience with over 130 club career appearances under his belt.
Verdict
With Adama Soumaoro currently out of favour at Lille and set to enter the last 18 months of his contract, Crystal Palace should fancy their chances of nabbing the centre-back on the cheap during the mid-season trading period. The Eagles surely need to restructure their backline with some fresh blood and a potential deal for the Frenchman would serve them well.
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The 28-year-old still potentially has several years remaining in his prime at 28 and is expected to offer good value for money in the market as far as Hodgson is concerned.
