Took me like a week to write this, so I hope you all read it and enjoy debating!

Continuation from the topic "Strikers we could realistically get to acore asap".

Same assumptions apply:

1. They need to be in form right now
2. The teams where they play would have to want to sell for less than 10 million, preferably for less than 5
3. They should have good scoring or assisting records in the last 2 years in the top 5 leagues (Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, Ligue 1) or outstanding records in medium leagues (Portugal, Russia, Turkey, Belgium, Championship, 2. Bundesliga, Segunda Division, Serie B, Netherlands, Switzerland, Ukraine, Greece, Austria, Croatia, Serbia, Scotland, Czech Republic, MLS, Brazil, Argentina, China Superleague, Japan etc.).
4. Their goals should not have come from penalties (except maybe a few)
5. Preferably, they can do other things than score, like press, defend well, run a lot, provide assists.
6. Age should be below 30, preferably below 25 as to warrant a possible re-sale
7. Player should want to come for an average Premier League salary, not higher.

Let's define our selection a little, shall we? A decent Premier League attacking midfielder or winger offers a goal or assist on average every 300 minutes or so (for example Townsend with 8 goals and 16 assists the last 2 years in 7600 minutes, roughly 1 every 300 minutes or so. Same for Matt Ritche, Gudmundsson, Jordon Ibe, Nathan Redmond, James Ward Prowse or Marc Albrighton).

But decent is not enough. A very good PL attacking midfielder ofers 1 every 250 minutes or in even less than 200 minutes on average (Zaha, Ryan Fraser, Felipe Anderson, Roberto Pereyra, Richarlison, Jose Izquierdo).

I will only refer below to those player who I think can reach that level in the Premier League when brought here.

If they play in one of the other top 5 leagues they should have similar numbers.

If they play in one of the medium leagues in Europe or in top leagues second tiers like the Championship or in South American leagues, the MLS or Japan, their number of minutes played in the last 2 years should be multiplied by 1.5. If they play in the Netherlands it should be multiplied by around 1.75 because they have a tendency to score a lot of goals there. If they come from China or other very poor leagues they should have scored or assisted much more than the minutes played!!

For example Izquierdo who had scored and assisted 35 in 4700 minutes in Belgium in the 2 years previous to coming to England is, in my opinion, on course to scoring or assisting around the same number in 4700 minutes multiplied by 1.5, therefore in around 7150 minutes. At around 200 minutes on average. So far he has scored or assisted 10 in about 2500 minutes in the PL for a lowly team like Brighton, so he's on track.

Players who came from the Championship, like Andre Gray, Chris Wood, Glenn Murray, Tammy Abraham, Knockaert have scored and assisted pretty much the same they were doing in the Championship if you multiply their number of minutes by 1.5, making the step up one level.
Would have expected a little more from Dwight Gayle in the top flight after coming from so many goals in the Championship, but he wasn't really given time. He did score and assist 9 in 1900 minutes last year for Newcastle, roughly 1 every 200 minutes of playtime.

Of course this rationale will not always work, there are factors like adaptability, health problems unaccounted for, it isn't exact science, but it if often that similar results are obtained in years in a row, with slight differences for better or worse.

So, which players are in great shape right now, cost below 10 million and could come to Palace and have similar numbers long term? Well, from England it's difficult to get such cheap players and if a team like Brentford is asking for 16 million for on fire Ollie Watkins, it's better to look elsewhere.

From Germany:

You can't really touch a Thorgan Hazard from Moenchengladback for less that 25 million but maybe a PATRICK HERRMANN from them whom I've talked about since 2 years ago, started the season with goals and assists but he's not an absolute starter, they could want to sell. FLORIAN KAINZ from Werder Bremen manages to stay on fire despite not really being in the manager's plans. Incredible player, 7 goals and 19 assists in Austria in the 2015-16 season, before coming to play in the Bundesliga. 8 goals and 10 assists for Werder Bremen (none penalties) in 2800 minutes. Despite not being really used this season, he still managed 2 goals and 3 assists in all competitions in 600 minutes. They paid for him 3 million so probably just want to recoup. Didn't score or assist in 600 minutes for the national team, but it's not a big amount of playtime, you can add it to the Bundesliga time he got and it still leaves him 1 goals or assists in less than 200 minutes.

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VINCENZO GRIFO from Hoffenheim is always an option, I said in the summer that he's a wonderful catch for just 5 million after 6 goals and 15 assists the last 2 seasons. 1 goals and 3 assists this season in just 350 minutes. They don't really use him and he might want playing time somewhere to also keep getting caps for the Italy national team.

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I'd have suggested YEHVEN KONOPLYANKA from Schalke too, as they want to dispose of him despite him being really good whenever he comes on, but it's rumoured that he has one of the highest salaries in the Bundesliga and at 29 years old I don;t think it's wise paying all that money.

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Chadrac Akolo, Paul Georges Ntep, Marius Wolf and Mattheus Pereira would have been high on my list, but, for one reason or another, they're not getting much playtime this autumn, so they wouldn't come in a very good shape. Takashi Usami, on loan from Augsburg to Fortuna Dusseldord is one to keep an eye out for. There isn't much more to say about the young Belgian who scored 3 goals against Bayern in a 3-3 thriller the other week and has 6 more goals this season, he's on loan from Watford and he'll surely be back in the Premier League playing for them next season after having been bought for just 4 million from Belgium.

From SPAIN:

NICOLA SANSONE from Villarreal looks very good to me. Very fit, fast player, perfect for the Premier League. Would be at the top limit of the 10 million in the title though. But worth it if Villarreal decide they don't want to use him anymore.

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I'm not really sure how much Celta Vigo are asking for PIONE SISTO these days, but a bid of 10 million wouldn't hurt. He has lost his place as a starter in their team despite being the third best assister in the league last season outside of players from Barca or Real, only behind Pablo Fornals and Gonzalo Guedes. JONY from Deportivo Alaves, a player I've previously reccommended when he was a no-name at last place Malaga, is currently best assister in Spain, tied with Lionel Messi with 6 assists, so I think I should be listened in what I'm saying.

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IBAI GOMEZ with 3 goals and 2 assists this season and continuing his good form from last years is another good, cheap option, especially as he's free of contract in the summer and can be signed on a free.

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One of my favourite players from Spain is CRISTIAN TELLO, the former Barca youngster now playing for Betis after having played for Barca, Fiorentina and FC Porto. They use him sparingly, so I think they'd acept a bid. He still provided 1 goal and 4 assist this 18-19 season in just 750 minutes, despite often being used as a wingback. A very "Zaha" type of player.

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Maybe even try putting a bid for ENIS BARDHI, 23 years old, from Levante, a left footed player capable of playing attacking midfielder, left midfielder or even central midfielder and who has don great in La Liga at just 23 coming from the Hungarian league!! They have him tied down till 2020, but Levante is a small team, they never sold anyone for more than 10 million.

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From Italy:

I've talked about El Shaarawy before, so I won't reffer to him again, especially as he wouldn't be in the 10 million maximum price I gave above. Same for Iago Falque, who would be a wet dream, but they want at least 20 million.
Instead, I recommend MIHA ZAJC from Empoli, Slovenia's news star. In the summer I said get NANI who had scored 3 and assisted 4 in 350 minutes for Lazio and he was free. He went to Sporting and has now scored and assisted 11 in 1200 minutes this season. Now I recommend this Zajc, he's a star in the making.

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CAMILLO CIANO is a relatively unknown left footed midfielder playing with lowly Frosinone. Pretty much a one man job from him to get the team promoted to the Serie A. Can play a bunch of positions up front and can take a free kick over the wall!

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Joao Pedro from Cagliari could have fit the bill, but his only position is behind the main striker, never in the right or left, so I'd rather skip him. Sampdoria's Gaston Ramirez has the numbers, but he hasn't got the pace. He has been to the Premier League before and struggled. Players from bigger teams can't really come to Palace, not even Lazio's Luis Alberto who is not getting the gametime he'd like. Iago Falque from Torino would be a dream, but they want at least 20 million for him (totally worth it though)

Moussa Barrow (19 yo) from Atalanta is one to keep an eye out for the future, as is Christian Kouame (20 yo), the one who feeds new sensation Piatek all the assists. Same with Iuri Medeiros from Genoa, but he's not having a good start of the season, so he's not "on fire" to start scoring as soon as he'd come to Palace.

From France:

You can't touch Cornet from Lyon, Nicolas Pepe or Jonathan Bamba from Lille for less than 30 million. Not even Francois Kamano from Bordeaux, as someone else suggested in the Transfer section.

GAETAN LABORDE is a former Palace target and can play a bunch of positions up front. He was bought this summer for just 2.7 million by Montpellier and has already provided 8 goals and 2 assists. What a loss. Meanwhile, we got Jordan Ayew.....
Would they agree to sell if offered more than what they paid? Probably. Montpellier is not a team of great ambitions in the league, they don't expect to finish in the top 3.

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Keep an eye on Gabriel Boschilia, on loan at Nantes from Monaco, left footed, back after a long term injury and doing very well.

FLAVIEN TAIT from Angers is a surprise in the same level Nicolas Benezet was last years, but doing much better than the latter and could come straight to the PL assisting a bunch (already 8 assist this season).

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WESLEY SAID from Dijon could do very well in England too. He's a young left foot player.

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I'd like Argentine LUCAS OCAMPOS from Marseille, a Lamela type of tall and fast player, but they'd probably ask a small fortune. Can't really get others from Lyon, PSG, Marseille or Monaco, maybe except for Clinton N'jie, short but fast Camerronian attacking player, but he's not very used at the moment.

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Tunisian Bassem Srarfi and Remi Oudin are almost ready to make the jump to a higher league, they look great for their ages, both left footed, both should be getting more minutes at highest level in the next years. I don't know what Nice is thinking about with Srarfi, he hasn't featured in the last games, so getting him for 3-5 million would be a real coup for such a talented player.

From Portugal:

Nakajima from Portimonenese is said to be sold for more than 20 million, so he's a no go.

RICARDO HORTA from Braga would have been a similarly wonderful player, especially as he was free 1 and half years ago after leaving Malaga, at just 22 years old, but now, 27 goals and 20 assists later for Barga, he'd cost at least 15 million. Totally worth it though! I've mentioned Hernani from Porto a lot in the last years, but with the limited playing time he has gotten, he has gone a bit silent in terms of scoring and assisting.

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From the Netherlands:

Hirving Lozano or Hakim Ziyech are now out of Palace's level. BRANDLEY KUWAS is still at Heracles and still doing good, I showed videoclips about him and his powerful left footed strike in the summer (5 goals and 2 assists in 900 minutes this season), OUSSAMA IDRISSI at just 22 years old is very good for AZ Alkmaar, DONIS AVDIJAJ is a no-name for everyone else, but he used to be the greates player in the German youth leagues. Schalke was very stupid to let him go, he went to the Eredivisie and has been amazing despite playing for lowly Willem Tilburg or Roda Kerkrade.

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You can't touch players from Ajax or PSV, but STEVEN BERGHUIS or SAM LARSSON from Feyenoord would be good long term, even though they're not playing their best football right now. They cost Feyenoord 6 and 4 million, so they'd likely sell for less than 10 million, especially as they know they will not finish in the first 2 positions in the league. Berghuis is left footed, was in England before with Watford but wasn't really given chances. ZAKARIA LABYAD could be an option if he continues to be an unused substitute in Ajax, he has contributed to a couple of goals despite hardly playing this autumn. Even MIMOUN MAHI could be a viable option for the Premier League at a decent price.

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From Russia:

The Miranchuk brothers are finishing their contracts with Champions League club Lokomotiv Moscow the following summer, but I'm not convinced they'd be great in the PL. They have scored or assisted like once in 200 minutes in Russia, so they'd probably do that in 300 minutes on average in England. Not amazing, but as long as they'd come for free, could be worth a look....

VIKTOR CLAESSON, the Swede from FC Krasnodar, a very good team but not well known, is probably the best in that league after Quincy Promes has gone to FC Sevilla. Cost them just 1.8 million 1 and a half years ago. He'd probably cost around 10 million now. Massive amount of goals and assists in Russia, as well as for the Sweden national team.

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ROBERT MAK from Zenit is one of my favourites. He has established himself as a starter this season, they're leading the league and are qualified in the Europa League because of his goals and assists. Would they sell for an offer of around 5-6 million? Maybe, It's worth a try.

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Spartak Moscow also have some good players within their ranks. I'd name here SOFIANE HANNI, who was the best assister in Belgium and is doing good in Russia too. He's not very fast as required in the PL, but he is tall and slim, agile would be the word I'm looking for, could offer at least half-a-Mahrez on the opposite wing. Melgarejo, the Paraguayan from Spartak is a very similar player to Jeffrey Schlupp, able to play both as left midfielder and left back and I'd be surprised to see Palace going for him because there has already been a big investment in Schlupp. But Melgarejo would have been the far better player.

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From Turkey:

EDIN VISCA has always been constantly good and that wouldn't change anywhere he'd go to play. But at 28 he's not really young anymore. Trezeguet, the Egyptian form Kasimpasa nicknamed after the great French striker, has the numbers, but doesn't have the speed or stamina to play in the PL.

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PAOLO HURTADO has developed pretty well in the last years and if you don't mind his 28 years old, he'd also be good enough to play in the PL (if fit, as I know he has a minor injury).

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JUNIOR FERNANDES, the Chilean, is very good as long as you don;t mind that he's 30. He's a Zaha type of player.

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From Belgium:

A lot of talent in this league. I've sen TROSSARD suggested here before, so he'd be a great option. Recently called up to the Belgium national team too after his exploits this autumn. And that's a feat within itself, it;s very hard to get into the Belgium national team at all the talent existing there. Roberto Martinez does not usually allow players in. Genk has done a wonderful thing scoring this autumn with the most goals in the league, they might not want to sell as they're aiming for the title.

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There are also wonderful players from FC Brugge. From the top of my head, those they'd sell for less than 10 million and who would make it in Palace are: SCHRIJVERS (22 years old, pretty similar to Trossard, young and good, brought in from exactlty Genk), ARNAUT DANJUMA (21 years old, capable of playing as wingback too, get this guy fast!!), Krepin Diatta (19 years old) and Emmanuel Dennis (20 years old) are 2 for the future, to keep the eye on. They might even let DENNIS go as they have so many forwards. Vanaken, their attacking midfielder is good, but at 26 he would be too expensive at over 10 million, what they're asking. And for their Champions League scoring striker, Wesley, they'd ask more than Palace could pay for a 21 year old.

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DAICHI KAMADA has been a wonderful revelation this season with 9 goals in 650 minutes. He is on loan from Eintracht where he can't get playing time. At 23 years old, he can only improve. And Japanese players are known to adapt easily in England or Germany because they work hard and run a lot.

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Ukrainean RUSLAN MALINOVSKY from Genk is more like a central midfielder than an attacking one but at how good he's been, he deserves a mentioning here. His teamate Pozuelo as well, but Malinvski is much taller and stronger and would adapt beter to the English PL.

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THEO BONGONDA keeps doing good even though he's in a small team like Zulte Waregem (5 goals and 4 assists). I wrote about Bongonda, Alfonso Pedraza and Raphinha from Victoria Guimaraes last year when trying to find cheaper options to Ademola Lookman. And where are they now? Bongonda, though refused by Celta Vigo, has gone back to Belgium and is doing great in a team which is struggling against relegation, Alfonso Pedraza has become a starter at Villarreal and Spain press says Real Madrid want him, while Raphinha has gone to Sporting Lisbon. Also, HARRY WILSON, who I also proposed there, is doing amazingly at Derby County , on loan from Liverpool.

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Stallone Limbombe from Gent is having a great autumn (imagine a player named Stallone in your team!!), but I don't trust his long term success. He doesn't have good figures until last year and he needs more consistency at his age.

Anderlecht has some good players too, but Landry Dimata is not their player and I'm pretty sure that Wolfsburg will want the 21 year old striker back. Wolfsburg have another striker on loan in Belgium who is also doing great, even younger Victor Osimhen, one of the stars from the Nigeria U20 football team. One to keep an eye out for. In my opinion, he's even better than Landry Dimata but just wasn't given as many chances and has been loaned to Charleroi instead of Anderlecht. If Wolfsburg get Dimata back next year and they'll want to sell Osimhen, it really should be speculated. He's on of the best 19 years old strikers I've ever seen.

Anderlecht also have BAKKALI and KNOWLEDGE MUSONA within their ranks and I think both of them are capable of playing with success in the Premier League. At least Bakkali should be carefully monitored as he;s still really young. But Musona is at an age where he needs playing time. And he doesn't really get that at Anderlecht. Still, he has done well when coming on this season, even for the national Zimbabwe team, which doesn;t really have good players to help him out. There's also a good Japanese in Anderlecht, Morioka, but he's been injured this season, so he needs time to regain fitness.

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MOUSSA DJENEPO from Standard Liege has also bee wonderful for his age and is ready for the next step. Chakvetadze from Gent seems closer to a giant like Barcelona, so let's skip him for now.

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From the Championship:

As I said, on fire Ollie Watkins is too expensive and not worth that much. SAID BENRAHMA, also of Brentford, brought in for just 1,7 million, would probably be a cheaper and just as good player. But my favourite is EMILIANO BUENDIA, Argentine, just 21 years old, brought for 1,5 million by Norwich from Spain, he has 3 goals and 8 assists in all competitions in 1200 minutes and they're sitting top of the league.

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Harvey Barnes is involved in West Brom's struggle for promotion, so they won't let him leave. Harry Wilson and Mount are doing great for Derby County under Frank Lampard, they won't leave either. Joao Carvalho, who is doing well in Nottingham, is massively expensive, as would be all the Portuguese players on loan there. Callum Robinson, Jarrod Bowen and Kemar Roofe are good, but not yet PL level.

Conor Hourihane, Mateusz Klich and John McGinn are interesting central midfielders.

From La Liga 2:

Spain's second tier is not very rich in terms of young players, but it gives us JOSE NARANJO, 24 yo from Tenerife, with matches for Genk in the top division with Celta Vigo and Leganes, arrived this summer for just 400 thousand.

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FEDERICO CARTABIA from Deportivo is always one of the first on any list I make. A bit of a downfall last season (nothing much, but only 3 goals and assists in 1200 minutes in a very struggling Deportivo team). Already has 3 in 300 minutes this season, but yeah, in the La Liga 2. But he had double figures in La Liga the previous years, though he was very young. I know him., he is feisty and, though short, he has a left foot that causes problems to anyone, He needs to play and continuity. If Depor wants to sell for 3-5 million, get this guy!

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From 2. Bundesliga:

LOUIS SCHAUB from FC Koln has left Austria this summer after being amaing there. And what has he done in FC Koln? 9 assists and 2 goals in 1100 minutes, they're on theor way back to the top division. Of course they won't sell now, but he's one to keep watching.

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JAE SUNG LEE from Holstein Kiel is a Korean attacking midfielder, fast and strong like all Koreans, but seriously good (not just average like Chungy was). Jae Sug Lee cost them just 900 in the summer. 13 goals and 17 assists in the last 2 years in Korea, 2 goals and 6 assists since his arrival in Germany in 4 months, can even play as central midfielder on occasion.

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From Ligue 2:

Zinedine Ferhat is the closest one I can think of, with great growth in terms of assists in the last 2 years, but I don;t know if he could hit 1 in less than 300 minutes in the Premier League. Still, it would be nice to have a player named “Zinedine”, the first after the great Zidane. It would help dell him too!!

Serie B:

ROBERTO INSIGNE (yes, the brother of that Insigne!). Incredible case of another brother having great talent, it's not just being promoted cause of his name, he is doing very well for a 24 year old. But....Benevento is aiming for promotion and they will not renounce their loan just so that he can come to us. If they won't make his loan permanent, then it would be the case of signing him from Napoli, where he will not find room to play.

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There's also an interesting Luca Tremolada. He has a powerful left foot strike, but he's too tied to the attacking midfielder position, rarely playing otherwise. I have to see more of him.

From Greece:

There are 2 good players here, both attacking midfielders: Foutounis from Olympiakos and Pelkas from PAOK. They are both good, but KOSTAS FORTOUNIS would be my pick as he's more in form and he has had amazing seasons before, There has been talk that Olympiakos will let him go for just as low as 6 million, a low price for a number 10 like him.

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From Switzerland:

MIRALEM SULEJMANI has been wonderful for Young Boys in their last campaigns, as they became champions of Switzerland and got to the Champions League. If you won't mind the fact that he'll be 30 years old, then you'd get yourself a wonderful left footed side midfielder able to do something (goal or assist) every 220 minutes or so in the PL. I think Young Boys would part with him pretty cheaply.

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KEVIN BUA from Basel is also at a level which allows him to play in a higher league. Relatively ignored at Basel in previous seasons, he was always good when he came on. He is doing great this season, but now Basel don't really have much to fight for.

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BENJAMIN KOLOLLI I suggest because of his strength and his versatility. Amazing player, capable of playing with great success on 4 positions: right midfielder, left midfielder, right back and left back. Scores and assists from all of them. Normally, he's a wide midfielder, but you can use him as side defender if you need to during matches (as they do in the Kosovo national football team). He does good for a medium team in Switzerland, it's these type of players that palace needs, the ones that do good for medium teams, cause so is Palace in England.

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MATTEO TOSETTI is another relatively unknown player, but he has the most assists in Switzerland in the past 3 years. It's incredible that he's still with FC Thun, very technical player. Not sure that he has the speed to make it in the Premier League and a great part of his assists is because he is the team's first free kicks taker, but as long as Palace doesn't have a great free kick taker in the first place and he's a player costing around 1 million at most.....

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Blessing Eleke is one to keep an eye on, Kalulu, as are some other players who are injured at the moment, like Samuele Campo.

From Austria:

You could try to go for HANNES WOLF from Red Bull Salzburg who is ready for big leagues even though he's just 19 years old, but Salzburg started to sell very expensive and you probably wouldn't get him. Same with their TAKUMI MINAMINO. Together with the forward Dabbur, they make a wonderful attack formation.

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THOMAS GOIGINGER is a no-nonsense type of very strong player, he has been great this season for a mid-table team.

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CHRISTOPH KNASMULLNER from Rapid Vienna is another great player. He was shortly in the Championship when younger, but he didn't stay and moved back to Austria. He's 26 now, not very old, 17 goals and 13 assists in the last 3000 minutes in the Austrian Bundesliga.

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Some great central midfielders like Petar Zulj and Stefan Schwab, very good potential Cabaye replacements, deserve mentioning here.

From Ukraine:

I think Viktor Tsygankov could play here, but rumor is he's going from Dynamo Kiev to Tottenham for more than 20 million (and he's not even worth that much imo). MOHA is a young Moroccan player who was last year on loan in Ukraine, but I will talk about him later on as he's now in Slovakia. Duelund has just been brought in from Denmark so I doubt Dynamo would sell, but he's one to keep an eye on. The Brazilians in Shakhtar and even the new winger in Dynamo Kiev are out of our league.

From the Czech Republic:

NICOLAE STANCIU looks like the best in the league. I know him well, he's a fellow Romanian. He was very hyped in Romania and sold for 10 million to Anderlecht, but Anderlecht moved him on for just 4 million to Sparta Prague, even though he was pretty much the best assister in Anderlecht. He has since done very well in the Czech league and at international level and now Borussia Moenchengladbach wants him and is willing to pay as much as 10 million. He's a little short at 1,70 and most of his assists come from set pieces, but I think he would do well enough in the PL. Not very strong cause he's not big, but he is a player with stamina. Maybe not worth 10 million, but one to keep an eye on for the future if his price will drop.

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Michal Travnik is a central midfielder to remember.

Jan Matousek is a 20 year old for the future from Slavia Prague.

From Scotland:

There is JAMES FORREST from Celtic who has really improved these last seasons and everybody is saying he deserves to play in the Premier League.

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From Poland:

LUKAS HARASLIN at 22 years has managed 9 goals and 16 assists for mid-table Lechia Gdansk in 4200 minutes.

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DARKO JEVTIC is the second player from Poland's league that could do well in a better one. Ignored Swiss by the national team's manager, this left footed attacking midfielder, winger or central midfielder has been constantly playing well for Lech Poznan the past years. Recently, he has been on fire as attacking midfielder, but he can play more positions, as I said.

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From Romania:

I know these players well. The obvious choice would be current left/ attacking midfielder top scorer of the league Alexandru Mitrita, but he is very short and doesn't have the necessary strength to make it in the Premier League. Also, any Romanian football players have a problem with running, they tend to just walk on the pitch and only want to use the ball, not also do the work.

There are some good youngsters in FCSB (former Steaua Bucharest), but they are too expensive, as I know the owner wants 10 million for left footed right winger Dennis Man, more than 10 million for 19 year old attacking mid/ playmaker Morutan and has paid 3 million, so wouldn't let him go for below 5 million, for right footed left winger Florinel Coman. These players have managed to take the Romania U21 national team to the European finals next June in Italy, where only 12 of the best European teams will play. But to pay 5-10 million for them as they are still unaccomplished at top level would not be my recommendation. Good players, but they need time to grow. Same with Costache from Cluj or Dragus from Viitorul. Croatian Antonio Jakolis is really unexploited in FCSB, I think they want to let him go for free in the winter. Best assister in the Cyprus league last year (a Cyprus team just beat Lazio of Italy 3-0 in the Europa League). Marginalized in FCSB, often deployed as right back. He's not in shape, but someone to keep an eye at as a very cheap alternative.

From Bulgaria:

Now here's a youngster who is ready for the PL and who I think the club would sell for a maximum of 3 million: KIRIL DESPOTOV. Wonderful at his age, Bulgarian clubs don't usually charge much. The league is weaker, but Ludogorets has held the flag high in the last years with their Brazilian players. Despotov and his team mates from CSKA Sofia are keeping up with them this season. Despotov, despite being just 21, is just that good to play in the PL.

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From Israel:

DIA SABA has been wonderful the last 2 years. A very intelligent, very technical left footed player, can play on both wings and as attacking midfielder. Big number of goals and assists in few minutes scored at this level, time to move up 1 level to a top league. Recently made a terrific partnership for the Israeli national team up front with Dabbur, the goalscorer from Austria's Salzburg and Zahavi, the goalscorer from China and one of the best Israeli footballers ever (only that he's on the old side now).

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From Cyprus:

There would be the Norwegian youngster Zahid from Apoel, but he's having a poor start of the season, so just one to keep an eye on. There was also youngster Rolland Salai but he left to FC Freiburg in Germany.

From Serbia:

Partizan and Red Star usually charge quite a lot for their players. Red Star has done well enough in the Champions League this season, but they're now out of it. BEN NABOUHANE from them is a player very similar to Sulejmani from Young Boys, whom I've talked about above. If you don;t mind him being 29, then get him cause he'll bang in goals and assists from side midfielder position with his left foot. He is pacey too even though he's 29, still has more years at high level in him. Plays admirably for national team of Comoros too, a nation with less people than my city. Can't see Red Star asking more than 3-4 million for him.

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From Croatia:

Dinamo Zagreb sells very expensive, but one could at leat ask about the price for their teen sensation, Spanish DANI OLMO. If not, they have recently bought DAMIAN KADZIOR for just 300 thousand from Poland and he's doing magnificently. For 5-6 times what they paid wouldn't they sell?

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SAID AHMED SAID, the Ghanian with Italian passport from Hajduk Split, is a left footed winger or forward who has done very good for the Croatian team even though they've been struggling these last years. He has recently found his form again after a wonderful season last year.

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From Rijeka, I can safely say Brazilian HEBER is ready for the Premier League. Not the fastest, but not slow either, his goalscoring record is...ohhh....phenomenal!

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From Denmark:

VIKTOR FISCHER, former child star of Ajax has found his form again and has been outstanding for FC Copenhagen in the Danish league.

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Nordsjaelland is one of the youngest and one of my favourite teams around Europe. They have GODSWAY DONYOH who is very much ready to come and play in the PL as winger or second striker. Now I know you guys may be weary of what comes out of Denmark because of the Sorloth letdown, but I'm telling you, these are players with consistency over the years, Sorloth was just bought by Midtjylland for 400 thousand and 12 goals later he was sold to Palace for 9 million.

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Nordsjaelland also has 19 yo youngster Skov Olsen and Jonathan Amon who should be followed. Copenhagen's Skov (no relation) is also one to be followed, while Midtjylland's Australian/ Sudanese AWER MABIL I think is one who can make the jump to a league like the PL even right now given the form that he's in. I've known him since his days in Portugal and he is very good for a 23 year old.

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Norwegian winger GUSTAV WIKHEIM, at 25 yo, would be one of the biggest surprises if someone got him from the Danish league and took him to a better championship.

Besart Halimi would be a good choice for central midfielder/ playmaker.

From Sweden:

US new international ROMAIN GALL from champions Malmo is good and ready at just 23. Recently called up DAVID MOBERG KARLSSON, from second place Norrkoping, also seems like he should be able to make the step up.

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Anders Christiansen (also from Malmo) would be one heck of a central midfielder. Also, Carlos Strandberg is one striker for the future.

From Norway:

I like very much TOKMAC CHOL NGUEN, on fire for mid-table Stromgodset. There was also an African winger from Rosenborg, Adegbenro, but he fractured his foot not long ago and we'll see how he recovers. Pal Andre Helland, left footed, could be another name, but he's not getting any younger.

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Eirik Hestad would make a good central midfielder.

From Slovakia:

Yeah, the league is a little weaker than the rest in Europe, but Trencin has recently beaten Feyenoord 4-0 in Europe, so they're not that poor. Moroccan MOHA is worth remembering, he's at a nice, young age and is doing extremely well, should make the step up.

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Also, Michal Skvarka would make a good central midfielder.

From Belarus:

PAVEL SAVITSKY is playing as a winger fro Dinamo Brest. They don;t have much football in that league, but Bate Borisov has some matches in the Champions League and the Europa League, with moderate success. If I couldn;t find amaingfootball players with them, I've found this guy, relatively young at 24, I've watched him and he is strong, fast, has what it takes to make it in a top league. Maybe the Aleksandr Hleb?

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Ok, the last from Europe, even though the league is poor, I want to mention the Brazilians LEANDRO RIBEIRO and VAGNER GONCALVES from Georgia, especially because they're very young and score a whole lot for their ages. I won't name players from lower leagues, but I wanted to show these as they have potential for growth.

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From the MLS:

Oh, my.....so much talent here! And because they are finishing the league now, a lot of contracts are even running out!!

A lot of people have suggested Miguel Almiron from powerhouse Atlanta, but I think he'll only be leaving for a lot of money. I think the following players are ready for a move to the PL right now, have been on fire in the last months and have an available price: (in no order of importance)

ALBERTH ELIS (22 yo Hondurian winger)- some sources have his contract expiring next month, some have it until 2021, either way, a PL club could afford him. Young and agile, would come to the PL and be better than Andre Carrillo from Watford.

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DIEGO ROSSI (20 yo Uruguayan)- amazing for a player his age

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ROMAIN ALESSANDRINI (29 yo)- still has it, one of the most determined side midfielders from France I've sen, right up there with Valbuena and Ribery, fed Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Ola Kamara a lot of assists this season, left footed.

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DANIEL SALLOI (22 yo Hungarian)- they really got players from all over the world there, contract expiring in December 2019

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DIEGO FAGUNDEZ (23 yo Uruguayan)- contract expiring in December 2019

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ALBERT RUSNAK (Slovak, 24 yo)- contract expiring in December 2019, recently 3 assists in one match for the national team against Ukraine.

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HECTOR VILLALBA (Paraguayan-Argentine, 24 yo)- recently called up to national team.

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JEFFERSON SAVARINO (Venezuelan, 22 yo)- contract expiring in December 2019, kind of short but very strong and to have those numbers at his age is something.

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ROMELL QUIOTTO (Hondurian, 27 yo)- contract expiring in December 2019.

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LUCIANO ACOSTA (Argentine, 24 yo)- contract expiring in December 2019, I'd recommend him fully if he were more versatile, not just playing as attacking midfielder and if he were a little taller, he stands at just 1,60 metres. But I guess that means he's really fast. And you know how feisty those South Americans are, able to play behind the striker, draw back to close spaces, press and recover too.

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All these players have over 15 goals and assists in the last MLS season in under 2500 minutes (some up to 25 goals and assists, depending if they had more gametime and weren't injured at all). None of them were playing as center forwards.

Also, Latif Blessing, 21 yo from Ghana, is one to keep an eye on.

YOSHIMAR YOTUN is the central midfielder from Orlando City and the Peru national football team. He's finishing his contract now in this December. We remember the Peruvian team from the World Cup and what possession they had against Denmark or France, their midfielders, especially this Yotun, were passing the ball amazingly. He may not be extremely young at 28, but he can still play 4 years at top level. If you want a top quality replacement for Cabaye, this guy is your guy. He's free in January, costs nothing except pretty low wages, what more would you want?

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From Japan:

The Japanese league is actually pretty strong even compared to the European ones. From all the players they sent to the Bundesliga or the Premier League, pretty much all of them played well: Kagawa, Okazaki, Sakai, Uchida, Muto, Osako, Honda, all were greats in Europe. I really love the Japanese, they are hard working, they run, they press, they never complain, you gotta appreciate this type of fighters.

As of today, they could send out YUMA SUZUKI (22 yo second striker or winger). Imagine having Suzuki playing in England, crowds would go wild, he'd be an instant hit! He's actually a very strong, fast and hard working player too, amazing at his young age. Portimonense wants him cause they've had so much success with Nakajima in Portugal that they're getting over 20 million this winter or in the summer. If Portimonense can afford him, I think Palace can too.

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Brazilian GABRIEL XAVIER, 25 yo, free of contract on January 1st, is ready for a big league, he has been the best foreigner in the league by far, made much progress in the last 2 years. And I think winger JUNYA ITO can play with great success in Europe as well.

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From South Korea:

SEON-MIN MUN, national team component and participant at the World Cup, is probably the best after Son Min Heung from Tottenham. With 13 goals and 7 assists this season he's begging for a chance in the Premier League.

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From China:

Players like Oscar, Bakambu or Yannick Carrasco won't come to Palace. They'd have better options if they decided to return to Europe. But a player like ALAN CARVALHO, who is ending his contract in January, might love a Premier League experience. Really, there is not much difference between Alan and Richarlison from what I've seen, I'm telling you. I hope I'm not exaggerating (though I could be). Even a magnificently talented player like RICARDO GOULART, though would cost some money cause he has 1 more year of contract, might still be possible.
FERNANDINHO (25 yo, no, not that one!!) is also finishing his contract in China. I think the left footed Brazilian could do well in the Premier League. Not amazing, but well, better than what we have.

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From the Middle East:

There really is just the United Arab Emirates league which has the world clas players I'm looking for and these are 3 Brazilians:

LEONARDO (26 yo), really should have signed him in the summer when he was free of contract. He has not only been amazing in the Middle east, but in Serbia as well. FABIO LIMA (25 yo), left footed, very strong on his feet, very technical and CAIO (24 yo), similar numbers to Fabio Lima. They aould be able to play with success in the Premier League.

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From South America:

I think there are a number of players, but it's really hard to transfer from Brazil at the prices there. I really like Dudu from the Brazilian league but they made him a contract till 2023!! Gabriel Barbosa, the goalscorer, is not made for the PL. He is slow and good with the ball, he doesn't like to run. Wouldn't be the worst transfer, but certainly not worth what they're asking. There are some other young Brazilians there, but much too expensive.

There are some great center forwards in Ecuador (Cifuente for example), but I'll only refer to attacking midfielders in this thread, From Mexico, the one that stands out and should come to Europe is VICTOR GUZMAN (just 23 years old, 9 goals and 5 assists this season).

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In the end, just to show people that I'm not just making these lists without knowing anything, just look at what happened to the attacking midfielders and wingers I proposed in the summer. The thread is still right here, nobody has modified it since:

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I named 52 player behind the center forward. Most of them are playing pretty well, scoring and assisting even now (if given playing time). The only ones who are struggling are Darwin Machis and kakuta who has only scored once in 600 minutes of playing time, mostly because they changed teams and are playing for low table teams who score little in their leagues (Rayo Vallecano and Udinese), they need time. Podence is struggling in Olympiakos. Choupo Moting, Samperio, Ivi, Narsingh, Sandro Ramirez and Halilovic have not gotten much playing time to to injury or because of competition in PSG or AC Milan. And that leaves around 40 players who are doing well and could have done a better job if they had come to Palace than the current side midfielders we have. We are playing with Jimmy Macca there, who is better as central midfielder, and especially with Jeffrey Schlupp who will never be able to provide more than just be a decent left back. Even Townsend, whom I value and appreciate a lot, should have had competition or there should have at least been options to him. He has just scored 3 goals and delivered no assists in all competitions in 1350 minutes, many of those as striker. That's 1 in 450 minutes.

Imagine if we had had Jonathan Bamba, Nani, Grifo, Mak, Ibai Gomez, Tello, Harry Wilson, Bongonda, Jony or Kuwas in the team. How many more goals would those have created? None of those cost more than 5 million in the summer.

You missed one he's British and a great striker.

Len McCluskey

One more point

Defoe!

Edited by Midlands Eagle (03 Dec 2018 11.10am)

I'll ask you the same thing I asked on one of these before: how do you come up with your estimates of sale price and wage demands?

There are bargains out there to be found no doubt, but the vast majority of your suggestions are either not as good as you think or massively more expensive than you think.

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