Crystal Palace's hopes to get Championship superstar dashed

Said Benrahma's hopes of a dream Premier League move could be dashed again as Crystal Palace are said to be prioritizing bringing in a new striker. 

The Eagles have been tracking the Brentford winger as Roy Hodgson continues to reshape his squad in the first few weeks of the season. And the Bees are said to be happy to sell Benrahma for around £25 million. 

Palace are set to coin around £11 million from the sale of Alexander Sorloth to RB Leipzig but boss Hodgson believes bringing in another goalscorer is his most pressing need. That could be a major blow to Benrahma as the Eagles are unlikely to be financially capable of signing him after signing a number one. 

Benrahma has already seen hopes of joining West Ham dashed because the Hammers have limited funds and need to strengthen in defence. Aston Villa were also linked but they turned down the chance to sign him after splashing out cash in other areas including Arsenal goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez. 

Hodgson said: “Any interest we do have would be totally dependent on the price because it is not necessarily the priority area. We still really are more interested in improving the area upfront and to get another front player into the club so that is the top priority". 

"It would be nice to get another wide midfield player into the club too because it would make us a lot stronger. But how much funds there will be available for that player I couldn't possibly tell you because it is all tied up with how much money we need for that centre forward.” 

Belgian side Club Brugge are also keen on Christian Benteke and could land the flop striker for £10m. Wages would be a problem but the Belgians found a way around that obstacle when they signed Simon Mignolet from Liverpool. 

Elsewhere, Palace are keen to send young Scottish midfielder Scott Banks to League One Rochdale on loan for the season.

Featured image credits - The Daily Mail