The budget-friendly Crystal Palace wonderkid signing who could help club get over Trevoh Chalobah
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No sooner had Crystal Palace started to find their feet this season than the rug was pulled out from under them – Chelsea unexpectedly triggered a clause in Trevoh Chalobah’s loan deal allowing them to recall him to Stamford Bridge, and now Oliver Glasner’s defence is down a man at a critical juncture.
Palace’s back three had been one of their strong suits in a season which started slowly, and they boast the best away defensive record in the league – alongside Tottenham Hotspur, they have conceded just 11 goals on the road. That record will now be tested as Glasner finds his options limited for the rest of the campaign.
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Hide AdWill Palace sign another defender?
Palace still have five senior centre-backs available to them in the shape of Marc Guéhi, Maxence Lacroix, Chris Richards, Rob Holding and Chadi Riad, but Holding hasn’t played in the Premier League since the 2022/23 season and injury has restricted Riad to just one league appearance in his debut campaign.
There are also reports floating around that Chelsea may want to bring Guéhi back as well, and if any of the three current starters were to go down injured than Glasner would have a significant selection headache. Adding an extra defender may have become a priority in the January transfer window.
It is unlikely that Palace spend significant amounts in January, but reinforcements could make a difference as they look to cement their position above the relegation battle – and a cheap option could now be on the radar, according to a report from Africa Foot, who specialise in coverage of football in French-speaking Africa.
They claim that Palace are one of three clubs (alongside Fulham and FC Porto) who are monitoring 20-year-old defender Ousmane Diao, who has impressed with Danish Superliga side FC Midtjylland.
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Hide AdAble to play at both centre-half and right-back, Senegalese defender Diao, who has not been capped by his national side at any level, has earned glowing reviews for his positional sense and well-timed tackling since signing from second-tier Portuguese side Mafra in the summer, and could be both a promising future prospect for the Eagles and potential injury cover in the current campaign.
Is Ousmane Diao good enough for Crystal Palace?
While certainly one for the future rather than a player who could be expected to start regularly right away, the 6’2” defender’s judgement in the tackle, his intelligent positional sense and his physicality mark him out as having the fundamental skills to be a fine defender – but he may not have every attribute that Glasner wants from a centre-half.
While a perfectly economical passer, Diao does not yet look entirely comfortable with the ball at his feet and rarely attempts to carry it out of defence or look for quick downfield passes – he prefers to keep it simple and avoid high-risk situations, so despite the fact that he has played on the right, he may not be a natural fit for the wide centre-back spot which the departed Chalobah often occupied.
His performances also fell of towards the end of 2024 and he struggled in a few fixtures, including a surprise 5-1 home defeat to Brøndby – he was also sent off in the reverse fixture - and in a 2-1 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League group stage. His outings earlier in the season, however, showed plenty of promise and he has also bagged three goals in just 21 games for his team.
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Hide AdIt is unclear how much Diao might cost. The Africa Foot article notes that he is estimated to be worth around €4m (£3.4m) but that is only €1m more than Midtyjlland paid for him and with a contract running until 2029, they would expect to get more of a return on their investment.
If the price is reasonable, then Diao could be a good investment for Palace – or Fulham for that matter – but expectations should be limited in the short term, especially given that less technically confident defenders can take time to adapt to the increased pace of the Premier League. Diao could be a part of the picture when it comes to replacing Chalobah, but probably isn’t the answer for the next few months of the season. Then again, he’s made one considerable step up in his career successfully already, and looks to have a very bright future.
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