Why Crystal Palace should go for Steve Mounie in January

Crystal Palace are still struggling for goals and there’s nothing Roy Hodgson can do about it.

Wilfried Zaha is one of the Premier League’s most prominent attacking talents and has carried Crystal Palace on his back over the last few seasons.

The Ivory Coast international bagged 10 goals and as many assists in 34 Premier League games last term that sparked a lot of interest during the summer transfer window from some of England’s top-flight clubs, especially Arsenal and Everton.

In the end, however, Zaha failed to get a move away from Selhurst Park in the summer as Palace somehow managed to keep hold of their prized asset.

So far, he hasn’t flourished as the nippy forward is yet to register a goal or assist for the Eagles. Likewise, Andros Townsend has fired blanks in the five league games so far.

Christian Benteke’s star is clearly on the wane. Since the start of the 2017-18 season, he has scored four times in the Premier League for Palace.

The big Belgian simply cannot be relied upon for goals now and despite a couple of solid performances from Jordan Ayew, a lack of strong centre-forward continues to hamper the south London outfit’s potential.

Back in July, the Examiner had claimed that Crystal Palace were interested in signing Huddersfield Town striker Steve Mounie. The Terriers were keen to sell the centre-forward following their relegation, but eventually, they held onto him.

Steve Mounie, 24, was one of the rare bright sparks in an otherwise dismal Premier League campaign for Huddersfield.

He wasn’t at his clinical best this past season, though, squandering a series of chances for the Terriers. Apparently, that did come to haunt the club but one cannot fully blame the striker for the club’s relegation.

The Benin international moved to Huddersfield in the 2017 summer transfer window and had a decent first campaign in English football, where he scored nine goals in 31 games across all competitions for them.

Prior to that, he had a really good campaign with Montpellier in Ligue 1 which actually prompted the west Yorkshire club to sign him.

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That means with proper service, Mounie could thrive at Crystal Palace. He is a physical centre-forward that has great strength and aerial ability.

The 24-year-old can link-up well with his teammates, agile and quicker than Benteke. All in all, the former Montpellier man could be a fine presence up front for Palace and flourish alongside Zaha and Townsend.

Verdict

Despite his recent goal-scoring woes, Mounie could still be a smart addition to the Palace ranks.