As covered earlier on on Monday, Crystal Palace were heading in the right direction with their talks for RC Lens’ Cheick Doucouré.
The Mali international appears to be the priority for Patrick Vieira this transfer window, wanting to add the defensive midfielder to his Selhurst Park squad, and while claims emerged the Eagles and the player had already agreed on a contract, the same could not be said regarding the transfer fee.
La Voix des Sports said the fee was expected to beat Lens’ previous €17m record sale, and that’s exactly what appears to be happening, according to journalist Nabil Djellit.
Taking to Twitter, he explained that Crystal Palace ‘recently went to Lens’, where they were ‘very satisfied by the welcome’ of the Ligue 1 side.
That’s when the Premier League side ‘offered €20m + €5m in bonuses’, with ‘optimism’ emerging about a transfer in the near future.
Vieira is said to have ‘strongly weighed’ on the choice, clearly seeing Doucouré as a talent he can mould at Crystal Palace.
Les dirigeants de Palace se sont récemment déplacés à Lens. Très satisfaits de l'accueil des Nordistes. Ils ont proposé 20 M€ + 5 de bonus. La tendance est à l'optimisme pour l'arrivée de Cheick #Doucouré en PL. Patrick Vieira a fortement pesé sur ce choix #CrystalPalace #Mali pic.twitter.com/hCWRszvUl7
— Nabil Djellit (@Nabil_djellit) June 27, 2022
