Crystal Palace: Three players the Eagles should try to sign in January

With the calendar year coming to an end and the season almost at the halfway stage, Crystal Palace will be looking to drop into the market when the transfer window finally re-opens on January 1st.

The South London club are currently sitting in an impressive sixth place after 16 games, despite goals being hard to come by for their strikers.

With that in mind, here’s my top-three transfer targets for the January transfer window who I believe Alan Pardew should be looking at trying to bring in.

1. Michy Batshuayi

Batshuayi is one of many talented Belgian strikers

The young Belgian talent has been working his trade in France’s Ligue 1 and has somewhat been quietly making a name for himself.

At just 22, he’s scored 10 league goals in 17 games for his current team Marseille, making him the club’s top goalscorer this season.

The young forward, who previously impressed at Standard Liege, has a bright future ahead of him already, scoring two goals in two appearances for the Belgium national side. He is also currently playing European football in the Europa League, most recently scoring away in the 4-2 defeat of Czech side Liberec.

I strongly believe he will go on to produce magical moments in the future and play for a top European side, however, it is still early days in his career and Crystal Palace would be an ideal place for the pacey in-form striker to develop his game.

The Belgian does come with a £15 million price tag, meaning Pardew would have to break the club-record transfer fee again after previously purchasing Frenchman Yohan Cabaye for around £12 million in the summer

2. Islam Slimani

Slimani has performed well for both club and country in recent years

The striker, who was linked with Palace at the beginning of this season, is rated at £14 million and would be a perfect signing to reduce the pressure on the midfielders.

The forward currently plays in Portugal with unbeaten league leaders Sporting Lisbon, where he is the leading goalscorer with nine goals this term.

He is an out and out goalscoring forward and already has Champions League experience as well as averaging almost a goal every two games for his national team, highlighting the natural born talent he has when it comes to finding the back of the net.

Slimani should be a perfect signing and would bring a number of goals to the team, making a huge difference when it comes to winning or drawing matches.

3. Bafetimbi Gomis 

Gomis has found life tough over the past few months

The Frenchman, who plays for fellow Premier League team Swansea City, is having a difficult time at the Welsh based team this season.

With only one win in their last 10 league games and the sacking of manager Garry Monk, Gomis has scored only five league goals after 16 matches this term.

The 30-year-old has much experience in Ligue 1 with Saint Etienne and Lyon, but has blown hot and cold since making the move to England.

The striker was heavily linked with Crystal Palace last season after he was unable to stamp his mark on a first-team place at the Liberty Stadium. And if it wasn’t for Wilfried Bony’s move to Manchester City, I really do believe the transfer would almost certainly have taken place.

Instead of the Frenchman, who was rated at £9 million, Pardew opted for Wickham, who cost the club the same sum of money. Despite the age difference, I know who I would rather have in the team.

Despite currently having a poor time at Swansea City and a new manager coming in soon, I think Gomis would be a perfect addition to the squad.

His experience and ability to hold up the ball in the final third of the pitch would definitely play into the hands of Zaha, Bolasie, Sako and Puncheon.

Agree with me? Let me know who’d you like to see Palace go for in January.