Crystal Palace could miss out on Leicester City forward Kelechi Iheanacho with the Premier League outfit not yet meeting the £18 million asking price required for the Nigeria international.
Jean-Philippe Mateta’s Carabao Cup hat-trick away at Plymouth Argyle on Tuesday night may have been a welcome boost to Roy Hodgson, but it’s still unlikely to sate his demands for attacking reinforcements before this week’s deadline.
Mateta, like fellow Home Park goalscorer Odsonne Edouard, remain maddeningly inconsistent at Premier League level. Then again, you could level the same accusations at the man Crystal Palace are ‘pushing’ to bring in from Leicester City. Kelechi Iheanacho, at his best, is a joy to watch. A bundle of energy, skill and guile.
At his worst, however, he is more wasteful than wonderful. In the last two top-flight seasons combined, Iheanacho scored only nine times, five of those coming in 2022/23 as Leicester finished in the relegation zone.
Crystal Palace struggling to agree Kelechi Iheanacho deal
A strong start to the new Championship campaign, however, has emboldened Leicester to demand £18 million for the one-time Manchester City starlet. Crystal Palace, Sky reporter Florian Plettenberg explains, are willing to pay somewhere between £10 to £15 million however, and while Iheancho is enthused by the idea of a switch to Selhurst Park discussions between the two clubs are understood to be ‘stalling’.
The good news, for Palace, is that Hodgson has a relatively free run at Iheanacho. Fellow suitors Everton are likely to be out of contention after signing Beto from Udinese for around £25 million earlier this week.
“We have been eager to strengthen our striking options to add more attacking quality to our squad,” Toffees boss Sean Dyche explains to the Liverpool Echo. “And the arrival of Beto gives us that.
“He has impressed in a top league like Serie A for the past two seasons and scored goals.
“As a powerful striker who can carry the ball, hold up play, is strong in the air, and works hard for the team, he has a lot of attributes that we hope can see him prove to be a success with Everton.”
The post Report: Crystal Palace willing to pay £15m for target but negotiations stalling appeared first on HITC.
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