Crystal Palace are poised to make Stuttgart’s Naouirou Ahamada their first signing of the January window, while a surprise Tottenham coup has been buoyed following a bitter injury blow, per reports.
Patrick Vieira’s side have been conspicuously quiet thus far in the winter window. Their grand total of arrivals – either on loan or via the permanent route – currently stands at zero. However, per the Daily Mail and Fabrizio Romano, that’ll soon change.
Romano tweeted the Eagles are ‘set to sign Naouirou Ahamada’ for a €12m fee. That equates to around £10.5m.
A medical has been pencilled in for today (Monday), and personal terms have already been settled.
The Daily Mail shed further light on the story, reporting the 20-year-old central midfielder will pen a contract for three-and-a-half years.
However, the deal will also contain ‘the option for a further two years’. Contracts with a club option for an extra 12 months are common, though for an extra 24 months is rare.
In essence, Ahamada’s contract could tie him down to Selhurst park until the summer of 2028 if the extra two years are taken up.
The engine room was Vieira’s primary focus this month, per the Mail. The Frenchman is now on the cusp of getting his wish through Ahamada.
Ahamada was born in Marseille and represented France at Under-16, Under-17 and Under-18 levels.
He previously spent time on Juventus’ books before joining Stuttgart on loan in 2020 and later making the move permanent in 2021.
He’s been a regular starter in the holding midfield position this term, racking up 17 straight starts before missing out against RB Leipzig on Friday due to suspension.
Zaha injury buoys Tottenham transfer chances
Elsewhere, a shock cross-London switch for Tottenham’s Lucas Moura has been buoyed by a bitter injury blow.
The Sun recently claimed Moura, 30, has been made available for transfer before the window slams shut on Tuesday night.
Palace, Southampton and Everton are all reportedly in the mix, though the player’s apparent £150,000-a-week salary is a sizeable hurdle.
Palace’s talisman in the final third has once again been Wilfried Zaha this season. However, the Ivory Coast international has suffered a hamstring injury that’ll rule him out for up to six weeks.
The Athletic reported Palace hope Zaha could return towards the back end of February. However, the bitter blow could embolden Vieira and co. to push the boat out while they still can this month.
Moura would represent a Premier League-proven option and a direct replacement for Zaha in the forward line.
