Crystal Palace hold contract talks for striker better than Strand Larsen

Things haven’t gone as planned for Crystal Palace this season.

The Eagles have struggled seriously in the Premier League in recent months following the departure of talismanic Eberechi Eze in the summer.

To make matters worse, Oliver Glasner has confirmed he will leave at the end of the season, Jean-Philippe Mateta is likely to join AC Milan, and club captain Marc Guehi left a few weeks ago.

However, all is not hopeless, with Crystal Palace now rumored to have an even better deal to offer than their other target, Jorgen Strand Larsen.

Crystal Palace aim to sign better player than Strand Larsen

While their departures have dominated the headlines, Crystal Palace have continued to make the most of the transfer window this month when it comes to new signings.

For example, they acquired Tottenham Hotspur’s Brennon Johnson early on and recently agreed to sign Evan Guesand from Aston Villa on loan.

What’s more, the south Londoners have strong links with Strand-Larsen, and it looks like a deal could go ahead at this point.

Indeed, on Sunday afternoon, reports emerged that a transfer fee had been agreed and the Wolves forward was traveling for a medical before officially signing on deadline day.

However, he is not the only striker they have discussed in the last hours of the market. At least that’s according to a recent report from TEAMtalk that claimed Crystal Palace are interested in John Duran.

Indeed, the report reveals that the Eagles are one of a number of Premier League clubs to have been contacted by the player’s camp about a potential return to England this month.

He has struggled to get off to a good start since his £71m move to Al Nasr in the Saudi Pro League last year, and it is not entirely clear whether this will be a loan move or a permanent move.

So it could be a complicated and possibly expensive deal to cross the line, but given Duran’s immense ability and potential, Palace should have worked this all out, especially since he would be a better signing than Strand Larsen.

Why Duran is a better contract than Strand Larsen

Now, in an ideal world, Palace would sign both Strand-Larsen and Duran, thereby giving Glasner even more options.

However, if narrowed down to one option, the Eagles will definitely choose the former Villa man.

The first reason is based on his recent form in the Premier League.

Admittedly, the Colombian international has struggled a bit since his move to Saudi Arabia and then Turkey, but he was sensational the last time he was in England.

For example, last season he played 29 games for the Claret and Blue, scoring 12 goals in a total of just 1046 minutes.

This works out to an impressive average of scoring a goal every 2.41 games and, more importantly, every 87.16 minutes.

In contrast, the Wolves ace’s recent form in England has been less than impressive.

In fact, he played in 26 games, playing a total of 1,587 minutes, and recorded six goals and two assists.

This means that on average he is involved in a goal every 3.25 games, or every 198.37 minutes.

It’s also worth noting that he has only scored one goal in 22 league games this year, and that goal was a penalty.

Which brings us to the second argument in favor of the 22-year-old. He proved during his time in England that he was capable of scoring truly incredible goals.

He’s scored several Goal of the Season candidates and his ability to cheer up the fans should be worth something.

Ultimately, Palace should sign both players if possible, but given his track record in England and immense crowd-pleasing skills, they should go for Duran if they can only get one.