Crystal Palace could yet add to their squad on transfer deadline day as Roy Hodgson aims to bolster his attacking options before the window closes.
Crystal Palace’s deadline day transfer activity
So far during the winter window, Palace have signed Daniel Munoz from Genk, while teenage sensation Adam Wharton has moved to the club from Blackburn Rovers, joining in a deal worth £22m.
The latter signing could prove to be a wonderful piece of business for the club, and it proves Hodgson is thinking about the long-term future of Palace.
Could there perhaps be another deal or two before the window closes this evening, however? Maxwel Cornet may still arrive from West Ham United, that’s according to journalist Jacob Steinberg, who said: “West Ham continuing talks over potential outgoings. Benrahma close to Lyon on loan, Real Betis pushing for Pablo Fornals, Maxwells Cornet to Palace not ruled out.”
Journalist Ed Aarons then confirmed that the winger has agreed terms on a loan move from West Ham to Palace and the move could be sorted within hours.
The Ivorian would be another excellent coup, and he could even turn into Wilfried Zaha 2.0 for the club should he hit the ground running.
Maxwel Cornet could be Wilfried Zaha 2.0 for Crystal Palace
Zaha worked his way into Palace folklore during his two stints at the London club, culminating in a total of 13 seasons working his magic at Selhurst Park before joining Galatasaray last summer.
In total, the winger made 458 appearances for Palace, scoring 90 goals, and grabbing a further 76 assists, as he was arguably their prized asset during his second stint at the club.
The Eagles have clearly missed his attacking prowess this term, as they have scored just 25 Premier League goals – with only four teams scoring fewer in the division – and it is evident they need an attacking boost.
Like Zaha, Cornet is also an Ivorian international and operates on the left wing, indicating that he could emerge as an ideal heir to the former Palace gem.
The 27-year-old enjoyed a fruitful spell with Lyon between 2014 and 2021, netting 51 goals and registering 29 assists in 252 matches, suggesting that he could inject some attacking dynamism into this Palace side.
The £65k-per-week maestro then scored nine goals in just 26 Premier League games for Burnley in his debut season, proving that he can shine in the top flight.
Since moving to West Ham in 2022, however, goals have been hard to come by, scoring just once in 31 matches and a fresh start could be exactly what he is after in order to find his goalscoring touch again.
Losing Zaha last summer was a big blow for Palace, especially as he had turned into a crowd favourite, but they have yet to replace him on the wing.
Cornet may be going through a difficult spell at the moment, yet he has shown in spells with Lyon and Burnley that, if given regular game time, he can be a danger in the opposition third.
With just hours to go before the window closes until the summer, Hodgson looks as though he may have landed the winger until the end of the season at least.