According to The Evening Standard, Crystal Palace have ended their interest in Genk striker Mbwana Samatta.

What's the word, then?

Well, the Eagles are believed to have pulled themselves out of the race to sign the prolific frontman after The Evening Standard reported that the forward is in talks with two Premier League sides.

The fee for Samatta is said to be set at £8.5m, which seems fairly low given his excellent goalscoring record over the last two seasons.

Genk's No.10 has netted 42 goals across this season and last, scoring 32 goals in the 2018/19 campaign across all competitions while also recording six assists.

The 51-cap Tanzania international scored against Liverpool at Anfield in this season's Champions League, as Aston Villa, Brighton, West Ham and Norwich circle around the Genk attacker.

Crystal Palace are right to pull out of this deal

While £8.5m doesn't seem like a lot for a Premier League side to part with, especially for a player as goal-hungry as Samatta, Crystal Palace's Sporting Director Dougie Freedman is making the right decision.

Why?

Well, The Athletic's Dominic Fifield revealed on the HLTCO podcast that there is an 'acceptance' from the club at all levels that the average age of the squad needs to be lowered, as it is currently the oldest in the Premier League.

The south Londoners have just four players under the age of 27 within their squad, those being Jairo Riedewald, Max Meyer, Connor Wickham and academy graduate Brandon Pierrick, who is only 18.

Call yourself a Premier League expert? How much did each of these big-money January signings cost?

Every other player is either 27 or over, which is not a sustainable situation for the Eagles to be in with a number of their options nearing their thirties, or already in them.

In that case, signing Samatta - a 27-year-old striker - wouldn't do much to ease that problem, and would only add to the number of players in Palace's squad who are nearing the end of their prime years.

In other news, these Crystal Palace fans "would rather Ferguson, Bogle or Aarons" having read this recent transfer report regarding a right-back...