Fulham and Crystal Palace could battle it out to bring Trabzonspor’s Chibuike Nwaiwu to the Premier League in the winter market.
The centre-back’s rise at the Turkish club has caught the attention of Fulham and Crystal Palace.
His club invested around €5.5m to sign him from Austrian side Wolfsberger AC in January. The defender settled in quickly and has already played 2,683 minutes from 31 matches of which 10 are from this season. He even managed four goals and two assists.
Crystal Palace join Fulham
Álvaro Arbeloa’s side have already shown interest in the 23-year-old during the summer window.
In July, Sport Witness covered a report from France explaining that he agreed on personal terms with Fulham.
However, a move didn’t go through, as the London club failed to find an agreement with Trabzonspor. They had rejected offers of €20m and €28m from Fulham and reportedly demanded €30-35m.
The summer disappointment hasn’t put them off and Fotospor now covers the latest about Fulham and Crystal Palace.
Arbeloa’s side continue to pursue Chibuike Nwaiwu and are expected to table a new bid in the winter market. They won’t be alone as Pierre Sage’s side are also in the transfer race.
Complicated task for PL duo
The Nigeria international has a contract until 2030, and Transfermarkt value him at €18m. There has been a €11m jump since he joined the Süper Lig side in January.
Trabzonspor, who demanded a high transfer fee in the summer, will maintain the same stance. That’s mainly because Stefan Savić will turn 36 years of age in January and Arseniy Batagov is currently sidelined with injury.
The Turkish club will only change their stance if Fulham, Crystal Palace or another club were to table an ‘astronomical offer’. Fotospor makes no mention of a figure or the range needed to convince Chibuike Nwaiwu’s club.
There’s no indication whether Fulham or the UEFA Conference League winners are willing to spend big on the Nigerian in the next window.
