Why Crystal Palace should plot a summer move for Fedor Chalov
According to a report from the Daily Star, Crystal Palace will revive their interest in CSKA Moscow striker Fedor Chalov after failing to sign him last summer.
Fedor Chalov, 21, who has come through the youth ranks at CSKA, is widely regarded as one of the best emerging striking prospects across the continent. Several top clubs, including Premier League giants Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Spurs were all keen to get their hands on the forward last summer. (h/t Mirror)
Chalov has been a real revelation in Russia since bursting on to the scene back in the 2016-17 season. He won the Golden Boot in the Russian Premier League for his tally of 15 goals in the previous campaign, while also impressing against the likes of Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League. In all, the Russian registered 17 goals and 7 assists in 37 appearances last term.
Chalov hasn’t been able to replicate that form this term, although he has racked up six goals and as many assists in 31 appearances till date.
Meanwhile, Crystal Palace have endured a highly inconsistent campaign in the Premier League. They are 11th in the table and were finding some form of late after registering three consecutive victories, before it was announced that elite football in Britain would be suspended until the end of April as a result of the spread of Coronavirus.
Roy Hodgson’s side have struggled to score goals this season, with none of Wilfried Zaha, Andros Townsend, Luka Milivojevic or Christian Benteke delivering the goods consistently. In fact, they have netted only 26 goals in 29 games, which is very poor considering the quality players Hodgson has at his disposal in the forward department.
The Eagles signed Cenk Tosun on loan from Everton in January but his contract was cut short after suffering a knee ligament injury during training. The Turkish striker subsequently underwent knee surgery and isn’t expected to return to first-team football for another six months.
Thus, Palace desperately need to bring in a quality striker this summer if they are really serious about moving away from mid-table obscurity and challenging for better things. And Fedor Chalov would be a smart fit at Selhurst Park.
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Chalov, who has already been capped twice by Russia at the international level, has racked up a tally of 36 goals and 23 assists in 107 appearances across all competitions for his boyhood club – numbers which are overly impressive for a centre-forward aged just 21.
The Russian is a quality player who would complement the likes of Zaha, Townsend and Ayew in Hodgson’s attack at Palace.
Verdict
All in all, the 21-year-old could be the ideal long-term solution to Palace’s goalscoring woes and with that in mind, they should do everything possible to sign him this summer from CSKA Moscow.
