Crystal Palace: Chalov would partly solve one issue

Football FanCast

By Billy Meyers

Published Mar 19, 2020

Crystal Palace moving for misfiring strike target Fedor Chalov would help Steve Parish and Dougie Freedman bring down the average age of the squad.

According to The Mirror (print version, 18 March, page 47), Crystal Palace are set to spark a bidding war over CSKA Moscow striker Fedor Chalov, with West Ham and Brighton also keen on the attacker.

What's the word, then?

Well, the Eagles failed with a swoop to sign the Russian back in the summer, seeing a bid in the region of £14m for his services rejected.

The south Londoners' offer came after Chalov had scored 15 goals in 30 Russian Premier League appearances last season, while also registering seven assists.

He also managed to find the net against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu, scoring against Los Blancos in the Champions League Group Stages.

However, he has struggled for form this term, netting just five league goals in 22 appearances - despite that, he would still partly solve one huge issue at Selhurst Park.

Would bring the average squad age down

One thing which needs addressing in SE25 this summer is the average age of Crystal Palace's squad.

Apart from Brandon Pierrick, who has played just seven Premier League minutes this season, there are only two players under the age of 27 in the Eagles' squad, not including the out-on-loan Connor Wickham - they are Max Meyer and Jairo Riedewald.

Signing players of the 21-year-old Chalov's ilk would go some way to sorting this issue, something which the club are fully aware of as The Athletic's Dominic Fifield revealed on the HLTCO podcast - he stated that there is an 'acceptance' from the Eagles that the average squad age needs to be lowered.

So, while Chalov hasn't exactly been prolific this season with only five league goals, he is exactly the kind of player Palace need to be targeting this summer as they must attempt to freshen up what is becoming a stale squad.