Why Crystal Palace should beat West Ham to sign Kostas Mitroglou
According to the Daily Mail, West Ham are weighing up a move for Marseille striker Kostas Mitroglou.
The Greece international flopped in his previous Premier League campaign, failing to score in his short spell with Fulham six seasons ago. But the 30-year-old has since resurrected his career elsewhere with Olympiacos and Benfica before moving to Marseille.
In his first season at Marseille in 2017, Kostas Mitroglou scored 13 goals in all competitions and has three this term so far. However, the French club wants to restructure its wage bill and is willing to loan him out with a view to a permanent sale in the future.
With Marseille willing to part ways with the Greek striker, should Crystal Palace join West Ham for his signature?
Crystal Palace are struggling in the Premier League and lost 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur at home on Saturday. The Eagles are yet to register a victory at Selhurst Park this season, which is sure to bother Roy Hodgson, who was without his talismanic forward Wilfried Zaha against Tottenham.
Palace have not won a Premier League game without Zaha in the starting line-up since September 2016. The Ivorian was missing against Spurs due to a hamstring injury and in his absence, Palace lacked the guile and creativity in the final third.
No doubt Palace threw the kitchen sink in the last 15 minutes to get an equaliser but Spurs held their guns and snatched three valuable points away from home.
If the Eagles are to beat the drop this season, they need to make Selhurst Park a fortress and unless they spend in the January transfer window, chances of Hodgson’s boys staying in the Premier League look slim. And one area Hodgson needs to bolster is the attack as the likes of Christian Benteke, Alexander Sorloth and Jordan Ayew have underwhelmed in front of the goal.
The signs for Palace have always been ominous without Zaha and the game against Spurs proved that the team needs a new No.9. Keeping that in mind, Palace must go all out to sign Kostas Mitroglou in January.
Mitroglou is a strong and burly target-man who is good in the air with a decent turn of pace too. The Greek uses his strength to bully the defenders inside the penalty box and is very effective with his hold-up play.
A ruthless finisher in front of the goal, the 30-year-old is also adept at creating chances for his teammates and has the knack for getting to the right place at the right time.
Apart from his clinical nature in front of the goal, Mitroglou’s decision-making and awareness in the final third is also of the highest quality. The former Olympiacos man may not be the most technically gifted striker but he makes up for it with his tactical awareness, movement, agility, strength and aerial ability.
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Hence, Crystal Palace should not hesitate to give Mitroglou another shot in the Premier League.