da dobrowin： This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets…
da dobrowin： According to The Athletic’s Crystal Palace correspondent Dominic Fifield, Crystal Palace were exploring the possibility of a deal for Genoa striker Christian Kouame before the forward picked up a serious knee injury while on international duty.
The 21-year-old unfortunately tore his Anterior Cruciate Ligament during a game between Ivory Coast U23 and their South Africa counterparts – Kouame is sadly expected to miss the remainder of the current campaign.
Fifield continues that a fee had not been agreed between the two clubs, although confirmed that the Eagles will have to look elsewhere for a new striker.
So, with Kouame’s injury a cruel blow to his own progress as well as Palace’s recruitment hopes, just how well would the young attacker have fared at Selhurst Park if he had remained fully fit and a deal was done?
Well, on the basis of his season so far, Kouame definitely seems like he would have been a fantastic fit for the south Londoners.
Firstly, he has the ability to play either at centre-forward or as a left-forward, a trait similar to fellow Ivorian Wilfried Zaha as Roy Hodgson exploited last season – had Kouame arrived in SE25, the duo’s ability to interchange positionally would’ve been fun to watch.
Additionally, you only need to take a look at his numbers from the 2019/20 campaign so far to see how impressive an attacker this young man truly is.
Kouame has scored five goals and set up a further two in just 11 Serie A appearances, meaning that he is involved in a goal every 1.57 games and scores one himself every 2.2 games – his most recent club strike came against Italian giants Juventus in a narrow 2-1 defeat.
Furthermore, the 21-year-old wins 2.2 fouls per game on average, a trait that is crucial to a side like Palace who soak up pressure and hit teams on the break – Jordan Ayew wins two fouls per game, while Zaha wins 3.2.
Hodgson’s side are the second-lowest scorers in the Premier League this season with just ten goals in 12 outings, and it seems like a young, effective attacker such as Kouame may have been a real breath of fresh air around Selhurst Park.
That isn’t to say that the 6 foot 1 man would have been the answer to their prayers, although it is a shame to see that a serious injury has scuppered any immediate hopes of him pulling on the red and blue shirt.