£15m mistake: CPFC had a shocker on “frightening” ace who's “a threat to any defence” - opinion

Over the last three seasons, Crystal Palace have spent £30.24m on strikers who haven’t yet put together a string of form that justifies their transfer fees.

Odsonne Edouard has fallen out of favour since his £14.67m transfer this summer from Celtic, and manager Patrick Vieira is believed to prefer 6 foot 4 striker Jean-Philippe Mateta – who signed permanently in January for £9.9m.

With Edouard, Mateta, Christian Benteke and Jordan Ayew all scoring just 14 goals this season between them in the Premier League, Vieira will be hoping that any one of them steps up in the last couple months of the season and cements their place as the first-choice striker for the start of next.

They could have found their star striker in West Ham fan-favourite Michail Antonio though, with the club having been linked by The Sun with a move for the versatile forward back in 2018, worth about £15m.

Having made 218 appearances for the East London club, the Jamaica international won over the London Stadium fans with his athleticism, physicality and impressive work-rate for the team, but he is also beginning to add more goals to his game.

Out of Palace’s players, only Wilfried Zaha has bettered Antonio’s tally of eight Premier League goals this season, with nine, but in terms of average match rating, only Conor Gallagher has bettered Antonio’s average of 7.04, with a rating of 7.24.

It isn’t just fans though that have been in awe of the 31-year-old, who turns 32 tomorrow, as former manager and occasional pundit Harry Redknapp has heaped praise on the striker in the past.

What a good player he’s turned out to be,” said Redknapp. “What a handful he is, oh my God. He is frightening. Ability, skill, he scores goals. What a threat to any defence.”

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