Crystal Palace are reportedly eyeing a January swoop for USMNT forward Daryl Dike, who impressed on loan at Barnsley last season.
According to The Sun’s Alan Nixon on Twitter, Crystal Palace are keeping tabs on Orlando City SC striker Daryl Dike and could make a move for the youngster during the January transfer window.
Dike spent the early parts of his career with Oklahoma City Energy and the Virginia Cavaliers before signing for Orlando City in January last year. After a decent debut season with the Major League Soccer outfit, the 21-year-old centre-forward joined EFL Championship outfit Barnsley on loan in January earlier this year.
The USMNT forward enjoyed a fine spell with the Tykes, scoring nine goals in 22 games, playing a key role in their playoff finish, although he was not able to lead the Championship outfit to promotion to the Premier League. Having returned to Orlando City, Dike has made a decent start to the new term, bagging three goals and an assist in six games.
In eight matches for the United States Men’s National Team, the 21-year-old has scored three goals as well. His exploits saw a number of Premier League clubs take an interest in signing Dike in the summer transfer window, including Crystal Palace, but a move never materialised.
However, the Eagles are said to be continuing keeping tabs on Dike and could make a move for the 21-year-old in the January transfer window. The interest from Crystal Palace in the striker makes a great deal of sense as well considering that none of Christian Benteke, Jordan Ayew and Jean-Philippe Mateta have been among the goals in recent times.
While Palace did sign Odsonne Edouard from Celtic on the transfer deadline day, adding another young and exciting forward like Dike would be a smart move for Patrick Vieira & co., especially considering that Mateta is only on loan till the end of the season. A player on the rise, with some degree of exposure to English football, the 21-year-old can be a handy addition to the squat at Selhurst Park.
What now remains to be seen is if Palace do go ahead and try to sign Dike during the transfer window in January or decide that they are satisfied with the current options at their disposal.
