Crystal Palace Opinion: Eagles should reignite interest in Karl Toko Ekambi
Back last season, a report from French news outlet L’Equipe claimed that Crystal Palace and Brighton and Hove Albion were interested in signing Cameroonian international forward Karl Toko Ekambi from his former club Angers.
However, a move to the Premier League failed to materialize for Ekambi and the 26-year-old completed a move to Villarreal last summer after finishing the 2017-18 season with 17 goals and 6 assists for
Ekambi has not hit top gear since his move to the La Liga, however, 6 goals from 16 starts cannot be considered as poor returns from a man who is playing his first season in the Spanish top flight. He has made amends in the Europa League, though, scoring 3 goals and providing 4 assists from 7 appearances.
Meanwhile, Crystal Palace have once again endured a tumultuous campaign in the Premier League and the Eagles find themselves marooned 14th in the standings, five points clear of the drop zone.
Roy Hodgson’s side may have steered themselves to safety in the Premier League this time around but they have plenty to think about heading into the next season.
Palace have been hit hard by their lack of creativity in the midfield and lack of firepower up front, with the Eagles managing to score just 36 goals from 30 games in the Premier League.
Christian Benteke has struggled for form and fitness for two successive seasons now, leaving the likes of Wilfred Zaha and Andros Townsend to shoulder the bulk of the attacking workload up front. Connor Wickham hasn’t done an awful lot either, while Jordan Ayew is set to return to his parent club Swansea City at the end of the season.
To put things into perspective, the Eagles should reignite their interest in Karl Toko Ekambi and make a move for him in the summer to bolster their attacking options.
Ekambi is a fast and agile striker with a good eye for goal and he has all the attributes to help Palace hit greater heights in the Premier League next term.
Blessed with lightning pace, the Cameroonian uses his directness, athleticism and dribbling skills to surge forward with pace and beat the opposition defenders.
He excels with his ability to make quick and subtle runs behind the backline, whilst his past as a left-winger means that he has got good vision and tactical intelligence to create chances for his teammates.
He links up with his teammates well, looks to wreak havoc with his pace during counter-attacks and has a penchant for scoring goals from outside the box.
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Ekambi might not be a household name in European football but he has all that it takes to help Crystal Palace mount a challenge for a top-ten finish next season.
