Crystal Palace continue to be linked with Olympique Marseille’s Florian Thauvin.

According to The Sun, the Eagles are interested in swooping for the Frenchman on a free transfer this summer with his contract continuing to run down with his current employers.

A World Cup winner with France in 2018, Thauvin’s arrival could signal the end of Andros Townsend’s career at Selhurst Park with the former Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United winger also seeing his current deal tick down.

When comparing the two players, it’s clear that Thauvin continues to come out on top.

The 28-year-old Thauvin is currently in the midst of another extremely productive campaign having netted eight goals and provided seven assists, whilst Townsend only has one goal and four assists to his name throughout 2020/21.

This is a trend that has continued throughout the two wingers’ respective careers.

Having ironically joined their current employers on a permanent deal at the same time – the summer of 2016 – Thauvin has had a bigger impact than the former England international.

In the time, he has racked up 67 goals and 47 assists in all competitions for Marseille. That is form that saw current Manchester United striker Edinson Cavani suggest that the former Magpie has “something different”.

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Whatever that "something" is, Townsend appears to be missing it having only scored 16 times and provided a further 27 assists in the same time period.

That alone then would suggest that should Thauvin become a Palace player, he would not only usurp the £7.2m-rated Palace man in the pecking order at Selhurst Park but he could also potentially nudge him out of the exit door.

It would surely be unfeasible to offer a new deal to the former England man when there is already better options at the club.

So, as Townsend continues to see his contract tick down to its expiry at Palace, he should certainly be worried about the potential arrival of Thauvin if he's got any desire to stay at Selhurst Park.

AND in more news, find out why the departure of Patrick van Aanholt could be hugely damaging for the Eagles...