Crystal Palace are on the verge of signing an ‘extraordinary’ player

Former Lyon ace Eric Roy can’t believe Ligue 1 clubs aren’t challenging Crystal Palace for Cheick Doucoure as the midfielder is close to and in talks with a Premier League move La Phoceen.

The so-called ‘League of Talents’ certainly lives up to that self-proclaimed moniker when it comes to talented, deep-lying midfielders.

Gini Wijnaldum can’t even break into the PSG team these days as Idrissa Gueye, Leandro Paredes and the masterful Marco Verratti are ahead of him in Mauricio Pochettino’s pecking order.

Aurelien Tchouameni’s stellar form at Monaco has paved the way for a £70m move to Real Madrid, while it seems only a matter of time before Amadou Onana (Lille), Maxence Caqueret (Lyon) and Youssouf Fofana (Monaco) also switch to bigger things too.

But according to Roy, who represented Lyon, Marseille and Nice with distinction on both sides of the millennium, a man en route to Crystal Palace for around £15m is among the very best in French football.

Crystal Palace approach Lens’ Cheick Doucoure

“For me, he’s one of the best six in front of defense in Ligue 1,” says Roy of Mali international Doucoure.

“He has everything to develop further in this position; Exceptional football IQ, fantastic first touch, technical ability and he recovers a lot of balls. He’s also a boy with a great mentality who always wants to improve. You can’t go wrong with him.”

Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira is reportedly “mad” about Doucoure, making the former Tottenham Hotspur his number one summer destination. So Vieira will be delighted to learn that Palace have now agreed personal terms.

L’Equipe however, point out that Palace and Lens haven’t reached the transfer fee yet.

“He has English clubs that follow him very closely. French clubs should wake up,” says Roy, pointing to the role Doucoure played in turning team-mate Seko Fofana into arguably Ligue 1’s best midfielder.

“We talk a lot about Fofana, and that’s normal. But without Doucoure’s work, we wouldn’t hold him in such high esteem. He’s the one who equalizes and wins the balls so Fofana can project.”

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