Why Crystal Palace must keep hold of Patrick van Aanholt
According to Daily Mail, PSV Eindhoven have made an improved £7.6m bid for Crystal Palace full-back Patrick van Aanholt, who has 18 months left on his contract with the Eagles.
The BBC has claimed (at the time of writing) that the Eagles are on the verge of completing a deal for West Brom’s Nathan Ferguson, who has impressed during his first full season in the Championship.
As a result, Palace being open to selling Van Aanholt makes sense on paper but this idea could cost them heavily.
Since their win at home to West Ham, they haven’t managed to get maximum points in any of their last five league games, thus finding themselves 11th in the standings.
With a good chunk of the season yet to be played and games against Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea and Leicester City approaching, Hodgson cannot afford to lose his players.
The manager must add reinforcements to the squad without losing his full-backs. He has only one established player on the left side of the defence in Van Aanholt, while Joel Ward and Martin Kelly have featured mostly on the right.
Van Aanholt, 29, came through the ranks of Eindhoven and Chelsea’s youth systems before moving to Selhurst Park in the winter of 2017. In his three years at the club, he has made 99 appearances while contributing with 13 goals and 3 assists.
The former Sunderland man has been a regular member for Palace over the last two years. And his experience of playing in England with the likes of Chelsea, Newcastle United and Wigan speaks volumes.
This season, Van Aanholt has featured in 17 league games but has been forced out of action due to a knock in the game against West ham United last month. He has played his full quota of 90 minutes in all the games except for the one.
He is also capable of helping out the team’s attack while moving forward and this is evident from the two goals he has scored, including the winner against Manchester United earlier in the campaign.
Verdict
At 29, Van Aanholt still has some years left to play at a higher level and Hodgson must retain his services at all costs. Therefore, Crystal Palace must avoid the temptation from the Dutch side and keep hold of their left-back.
