Three stars align to give Crystal Palace serious shot at securing Everton coup
Crystal Palace hold genuine ambitions of prising an Everton favourite away from Goodison Park after three pieces fell into place, per a report.
The Merseyside return of Rafael Benitez was one of the Premier League’s most intriguing storylines heading into the new season. The Spaniard was met with a fierce initial fan backlash. However, results on the pitch are football’s greatest tonic and Benitez has thus far produced them in abundance.
Everton sit fifth with four victories from six under their belt. Furthermore, they have surprisingly been free-scoring having bagged 12 goals so far.
Benitez already has his Everton squad purring, though one player who had made a stuttering start is Tom Davies.
The academy graduate has been handed just 17 minutes of league action thus far. The preferred midfield pairing of Allan and Abdoulaye Doucouré is a formidable one. As such, Davies has been left kicking his heels on the sideline.
Now, per Football Insider, a way out could be offered by Patrick Vieira and Crystal Palace. What’s more a trio of factors have given the proposed move a genuine chance at succeeding.
They claim the 23-year-old midfielder is on the Eagles’ ‘radar’ going into next year. At that point, the impressive Conor Gallagher will have returned to Chelsea, thereby creating a midfield void.
Additionally, Davies’ current contract is due to expire in 2023. Everton could therefore opt to offload the midfielder next summer in order to avoid losing him for free 12 months later.
That scenario would of course hinge on Davies refusing to sign a new contract – or Everton choosing not to offer one. The article provides an update on this matter, stating ‘no progress has been made’ regarding extension talks.
Those two factors, combined with the player falling out of Benitez’s favour could see Davies wind up at Selhurst Park next summer.
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Benitez confirms Everton plans for January
Meanwhile, Rafa Benitez has revealed Everton have been given the green light to make moves in the January window.
The Toffees splashed out a measly £1.7m this summer amid financial fair play constraints. However, Benitez recently admitted several January splashes could be made after revealing his talks with the Everton owner.
The Spaniard was asked at a press conference if there will be funds in the winter. He replied: “Yeah, I think so. I had that conversation yesterday with Mr. Moshiri. It’s just to be sure we do things the right way, they are very keen to spend the money and improve the team.
“The idea and the plan was very clear before, and we couldn’t do it for different reasons.
“I can read the newspapers, I can watch the TV but especially the local newspapers and know what fans want. Hopefully, we can be ready for the next transfer window.”
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