Crystal Palace are closing in on signing midfielder Cheick Doucoure from RC Lens and supporters should be "very excited" about his arrival according to Sky Sports journalist Michael Bridge.

What's the story?

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Bridge said: “They’re replacing Cheickhou Kouyate and Conor Gallagher with one player. And that’s not to say they’re only going to just bring him in, they’ll probably want to bring in another midfielder.

“But I’m hearing this guy is a bit of everything, and he’s good at everything, and he’s a nightmare to play against. So, Palace fans should be very excited.”

That may seem like a lot but he also said that the club will want to bring in another midfielder as well which will ensure they have enough depth in the position.

Supporters will be excited

The importance of Conor Gallagher for Palace last season can't be overstated, so not having him for the next campaign is a big miss and will have left many supporters feeling down.

However, the imminent arrival of Doucoure should life the mood massively, and although he's got big shoes to fill his form backs up the hype.

The 22-year-old made 34 appearances in Ligue 1 last season and was vital in helping Lens secure a seventh placed finish.

His defensive abilities are extremely impressive and when compared to positional peers in Europe's top five league's over the last year he ranks in the top 13% for tackles won.

He's also great at pressing with 36% of his presses per 90 minutes being successful. He will only get better as he becomes more experienced and a move to the Premier League seems to be the logical next step.

When you compare him to Kouyate his statistics also prove that he is very much capable of replacing him. Doucoure made 55 more tackles and interceptions than him last season.

He seems to be a perfect fit for the Premier League, not being shy to get stuck in and show the aggression needed to win battles in the middle of the park.

If Palace and manager Patrick Vieira want to improve on their 12th place finish last season then Doucoure can help them do that, but he probably won't be enough on his own, so they'll need to look at further additions as well.

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