Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew has admitted he is interested in former Arsenal midfielder Mathieu Flamini. The Frenchman left Arsenal this summer, and was apparently surprise target for Leeds United early in the transfer window.
Pardew is keen to bring in a midfielder after Mile Jedinak joined Aston Villa this summer, and Arsenal star Jack Wilshere turned down a move to Crystal Place in favour of Bournemouth. Pardew feels he needs to bring in an experienced midfielder to fill the void left by Jedinak, and is therefore targeting the 33-year-old.
“Yes, there is scope to bring in one more into the squad – I did that on purpose as I thought there might be a player we can take who is not under contract, who might just fit what we’re doing. Mathieu is a player I am looking at, yes. He would give us a bit more experience to winning games,” said Pardew.
During the summer we covered reports from Italy that Massimo Cellino could try to persuade Flamini to join the club in order to give Garry Monk an experienced midfielder.
The former Arsenal player moving to Leeds always seemed an unlikely scenario. Flamini would no doubt prefer top level football, and the opportunity to remain living in London, and playing for Crystal Palace, is one that would appear to suit the player much more than a move to Elland Road ever did.
Leeds United were very busy in the last window, and despite these links with Flamini they brought in Liam Bridcutt from Sunderland.
