Last week, we covered an article from Le Vif in Belgium about potential interest from Liverpool and Everton in Zulte Waregem’s loan starlet Soualiho Meïté, and now Stoke and Crystal Palace are said to be very interested.
The 22-year-old midfielder, who is currently on loan to the Belgium club from Lille in France, has impressed greatly since his move, and has helped Zulte top the Belgian league after 16 games, ahead of the likes of KAA Gent and RSC Anderlecht.
According to France Football on Thursday, Soualiho Meïté is of great interest to both Mark Hughes and Alan Pardew, with both Stoke and Palace reported to have made ‘concrete’ approaches for a potential transfer.
Zulte Waregem have the option to purchase the midfielder at any time for €300k before the 1st of April, which they are more than likely to do.
However, there is a catch.
As we explained in our previous article: “The big problem is that if Zulte take up the option for €300k before the 1st of April and sell him on straight away i.e. in January, they will only get 30% of the profit, which, for a bid of €5-7m, only stands at €1.41-2.01m.
As Le Vif state, for a club whose annual budget is €12m, it’s not bad, but it’s not great, either.”
Activating the buy-out clause would also see the player agreeing to a contract until June 2018, which isn’t the biggest safety net for the Belgian side.
This is definitely a story that is going to grow over the coming weeks, and a potential move to Selhurst Park or the Britannia Stadium could be on the cards for next season.
It certainly makes more sense than a move to Liverpool where the midfield is already rather packed.
