Crystal Palace have the chance to make amends for their pitiful showing against Arsenal earlier this month by beating relegation-threatened Sheffield United at Selhurst Park tonight.
The Eagles have struggled to score goals this season and currently have the third-worst haul in the Premier League, with the only thing saving them from relegation being the even worse sides below them.
This weakness is clearly worrying Roy Hodgson and Steve Parish, as the latest name touted for a move to south London has experience scoring goals in England and could help supercharge Eberechi Eze's creative output.
Palace look to the French Riviera for goals
According to the MailOnline, Crystal Palace are currently 'weighing up a late move' for Marseille's Senegalese versatile striker, Iliman Ndiaye to solve their goalscoring woes.
The 23-year-old only joined the French giants last summer after playing a crucial role in securing Sheffield United's return to the Premier League.
No transfer fee has been reliably reported yet, but Football Transfers Expected Value models price the Marseille fan at around £16m, which seems reasonable considering both his impressive form last season and his poor return this year.
However, even if he hasn't been at his best this year, the form from last year might be all the convincing Hodgson needs to push for this deal.
If the club can get this deal done, then it would be a brilliant end to the transfer window for Palace, as according to Fabrizio Romano, they are also closing in on Blackburn Rovers' talented midfielder Adam Wharton and look set to pay in excess of £20m for his signature.
Ndiaye could supercharge Eze
Now, as mentioned, the Senegalese international has been somewhat underwhelming for OM this season, scoring just one goal and providing two assists in ten Ligue 1 starts – although a goal and an assist in 63 minutes of AFCON action is encouraging – but last season he was a different animal.
In 3721 Championship minutes, the Rouen-born dynamo scored 14 goals and provided ten assists, meaning that he averaged a goal involvement every 155 minutes, or once every 1.72 games – a strike rate Palace could dearly use.
In all fairness to the "top-quality" forward, as journalist Josh Bunting described him, he hasn't been provided with too many chances this season, as Understat has given him an expected goals figure of just 2.40, so perhaps with more opportunities, he would rediscover the form he showed last season.
This is where Eze could come into the picture, as the former Queens Park Rangers sensation is one of the most talented players in the Palace squad, and were he playing alongside Ndiaye, he might be able to provide him with the chances he needs.
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According to FBref, which compares players in similar positions across Europe's top five leagues, the 25-year-old ranks highly among midfielders for several critical creative and attacking metrics, sitting in the top 1% for total shots, non-penalty expected goals, shot-creating actions, successful take-ons per 90 and more.
Percentile in comparison to other midfielders
Top 1%
Top 1%
Top 1%
Top 1%
Top 1%
Top 1%
Top 1%
Top 12%
Ultimately, if Palace want to seriously distance themselves from the looming threat of a relegation battle, signing Ndiaye and utilising Eze's skillset to recreate the output he produced last season could be the perfect way to do it.
With Wharton already seemingly on his way to Selhurst Park, another exciting late addition would be a welcome one for the Eagles.
