CHEICK DOUCOURE
Crystal Palace look to be closing on RC Lens central midfielder, Cheick Doucoure. Ligue 1 continues to be a fruitful hunting ground for Premier League sides, and the Mali international looks to be the latest import.
The 22 year old has been tipped as a future star for some time now, and his all action style could be a brilliant fit for Patrick Vieira and the Eagles. Palace look to be getting a coup, but let's take a look at Doucoure in more detail - starting with his defensive attributes
destroyer
The best word to describe Doucoure is active. The RC Lens midfielder is a ball of energy, getting up and down the pitch and involved in all facets of play.
At Lens, Doucoure plays in a 352 system (usually partnering Seko Fofana - another who may be on PL teams wishlists), and he is a key pillar in how this system operates.
Doucoure performs a few different roles in this Lens side:
BLUE: He drops into the backline to give the foundation to Jonathan Clauss to raid forward from RWB. Clauss is one of their key attackers and the extra cover from Doucoure is vital
YELLOW: His main job as a midfielder. Providing that defensive screen for his centre backs and disrupting opposition acros the midfield by using his Inspector Gadget like legs to win the ball back in a crunching challenge or intercept the ball.
Alongside his ball winning skills, his positional intelligence and exceptional reading of the game enables him to make the right decisions on when and how to engage the opposition - and this comes through in stats as well.
IMAGE 2
Early on his career, this was the Malian's main role, but thanks to his development, the change in system and increased responsibility on his shoulders, the 'destroyer' role has become secondary to his skills on the ball.
progressor
Doucoure has become one of the most progressive midfielders in the top 5 European leagues. Now consider the players that contains - it is no mean feat to be able to say that, and this all comes through in the stats.
You'll often see Doucoure pick up the ball deeper in his own half (usually after winning it), he then has the ability, running power and close control to tear up the pitch into the opposition half. It's here where he'll stop and evaluate, and look to free the runners wide or in front of him.
The 22 year old's range of passing is at a very high level and is continuing to develop. He's particularly good at the chipped through ball, the switch of play and sliding clever through balls into his team mates. His next step is to be more consistent with that final ball.
For a Palace side that is losing a key cog in their midfield machine in the shape of Connor Gallagher, this sort of progression from deep is going to be key. And should solve an issue with their current crop of midfielders.
palace problem solver?
Now I want throw this just to show what a top signing Doucoure can be for Palace. Looking at two of the most recent central midfield exports from Ligue 1 - Aurelien Tchouameni (just secured a £100m move to Real Madrid) and Bruno Guimaraes (Newcastle's £35m signing from Lyon in January).
Of course, each team has a different style and player has a slightly different role, but it gives you an idea of how much quality this lad possesses and for £18-20m it could be an absolute steal.
For Palace, last season Vieira continuously tinkered to find the right balance in his midfield. Once McArthur went down with injury and when Gallagher was pushed further forward, progression from deep became a bit trickier.
It led to a reliance on Joachim Andersen to play those long progressive passes, which he's very good at but is also culpable of a few mistakes. The other members of the Palace midfield often had a protective rather than ball playing role, so there was a bit of shaky form during the season. Vieira did eventually find his solution using Schlupp to give them the extra out ball.
Vieira has obviously seen what Doucoure can bring, but let's take a look at him in comparison to Palace's current CM options.
Now this tells us a few things:
He's not a direct Gallagher replacement, but he will fill the sizeable chunk of the gap that the Chelsea loanee is leaving behind with his progression, intensity and ball winning
He is more of a McArthur replacement. The role the Scot play is vital to this Palace team, but he is 33 and needs to be replaced. Doucoure has the ability to do this role and, most importantly, more.
To complement him and make up for the missing goals, we're also likely to see is a more consistent starting spot for Ebere Eze in a 10 or an 8 role (something we started to see at the back end of last season after his injury). And that can only spell good things for the Eagles.
suitability to pl?
Of course, he's not the finished article yet - he can be guilty of being wasteful after getting into a dangerous area and at times bites of more than he can chew when carrying the ball. Plus he needs to develop a better understanding of when and where to make himself available to receive a pass. But these are things that he can develop.
Overall, this is yet another smart piece of business by Palace. Doucoure fills an obvious gap in their side, and possesses all the traits to become a high quality Premier League midfielder. His energy, ball winning ability and progressive nature should mean that he slots in at Selhurst Park and the Premier League, but he'll obviously have to adapt to the higher pace, physicality and quality in England. Time will tell how quickly he can get up to speed.
For Palace, the transition in terms of squad and playstyle under Vieira last season was staggering, and they are fast becoming the poster boys for smart recruitment (props to Dougie Freedman). A team containing the likes of Guehi, Mitchell, Doucoure, Eze, Olise and Zaha is going to turn a lot of heads next season, and we cannot wait to see it.