Despite picking up both the FA Cup and Community Shield in quick succession, Oliver Glasner might well feel somewhat defeated from the Crystal Palace dug-out currently.
All of that recent success wasn’t enough to keep Eberechi Eze at Selhurst Park, who is now a £67.5m superstar at Arsenal, with Marc Guehi’s exit from East London also still looking to be on the cards as we head nearer to transfer deadline day.
With the clock ticking ever closer to September’s abrupt cut-off, the Austrian will be praying some positive additions come into the building, as a new midfield target now appears on their radar.
Crystal Palace lodge enquiry for £40k-p/w star
Away from all the talk about departures, it has been a rather subdued window to date at the Eagles.
Indeed, only Borna Sosa has actually cost Palace a fee this summer, and with the Selhurst Park bank account rising courtesy of Eze’s dramatic move to the Gunners, there will be hope that a major move or two is in the offing.
Of course, the main name taking up a large chunk of Palace transfer discussion at the moment is Conor Gallagher, with it being speculated that the ex-Chelsea midfielder could return to the Eagles shortly, having once experienced a formative loan stint at the club.
This would get the fanbase on side after Eze’s exit, considering Gallagher is known to have an eye for a goal and assist. He might well be joined by another creative asset in the middle of the park, too, in the form of RB Leipzig star Christoph Baumgartner.
Sky Sports Germany is reporting that Palace have lodged an enquiry for the £40k-per-week midfielder, as Glasner and Co. keep their options wide open to try and replace the star quality that has left East London behind.
Whilst the report does further elaborate that Glasner’s fellow Austrian compatriot isn’t pushing to leave Leipzig, the pull of the Premier League could well prove to be a tempting one, particularly if he is given the freedom to strut his stuff, alongside a potential teammate in Gallagher.
Why Baumgartner could shine with Gallagher
After all, Baumgartner has shown he has a moment of quality like this up his sleeve for his nation regularly, with a stunning 19 goals amassed from 51 caps for Austria.
His well-known reputation for delivering the goods for his country even saw his national team boss in Ralf Rangnick, declare that he is a “difference-maker”, with the number ten spot looking a lot less depleted if the exciting 26-year-old were to walk away from Leipzig for a shot at Premier League glory with the Eagles.
25/26
1
0
24/25
31
2 + 1
23/24
32
5 + 2
22/23
33
7 + 7
21/22
29
7 + 1
20/21
31
6 + 5
19/20
26
7 + 4
18/19
2
0
It will all rest on whether the Leipzig number 14 can show off his Bundesliga best consistently under Glasner’s wing in England – with a mightily impressive 54 goal contributions under his belt playing in Germany – but that transition could be made to feel a lot easier if he has the experience of Gallagher by his side.
Much like Baumgartner, the 25-year-old has garnered a reputation for being a lively presence centrally, as seen in him collecting eight goals and five assists during his first stint at Palace, but he is also well-equipped to sit back and be an anchor for his team, which will gift the 51-time Austria international the immediate freedom to express himself.
Away from collecting five goals and seven assists during his final Premier League season with Chelsea, Gallagher also stood out as a relentless livewire willing to get stuck in, with a hefty six ball recoveries averaged per clash, on top of also averaging a high 5.7 duels won.
Baumgartner has also displayed similar levels of vigour plying his trade in Germany, with 4.9 duels won on average for Hoffenheim during his breakout 2019/20 campaign.
The pair working alongside each other in the Palace midfield really could end up being a match made in heaven, with Glasner’s side hopefully looking revitalised with these new additions arriving through the door, even with Eze nowhere to be found.
