Ah, the festive period has been and gone. The nights are ever-colder, Michael Bublé crawled out of his cosy Canadian cubby hole and back onto our stereos, all whilst Sam Allardyce capers in the background as he eyes the next bang-average Championship club he can revive.
I personally refused to feel festive until the man was off Jobseeker’s Allowance and back in the dugout. If that makes me a grinch, so be it.
It’s also the time of year when Palace fans keep one wry eye on the transfer window hoping their club can deliver a shot of festive cheer, as one or two reinforcements (and maybe an outgoing or two!) come on the horizon.
Of course, that isn’t always the case. Remember when Nathan Ferguson failed his medical and there was a collective outpouring of Twitter rage? When #YanksOut got trending? Fast-forward to now and Fergie’s a Palace player, everyone loves John Textor and we’ve made a score of other signings since. How time flies.
I’d like to pretend I first drew up this ‘Potentially Palace’ list in a dressing gown, curled up with my laptop by an open fire with mulled wine to hand as I swirled my festive booze pensively, with inspiration radiating from my fingertips. In reality, Omicron had me hunched in a dark room with nothing but £4 Christmas string lights and Bublé on shuffle to get me through. I was truly feeling glad all over…
Without further ado (call it my isolation project-turned-hangover cure), here’s the first of five players that myself and the team at The Palace Way have earmarked as potential January targets - and we’ve even rated our odds of signing them if we made a move for them.*
*We should make clear that some or all of these players have NOT been formally linked. This is purely hypothetical.
Nahitan Nandez - Midfielder (Cagliari)
It’s not truly clear as to where Conor Gallagher will stand this summer. He’s an ambitious young England international and frankly, he has every right to push for a first-team place at Chelsea. He’s added dynamism and a commendable work rate wherever he’s gone on loan, and the box-to-box midfielder is adding goals a-plenty to Palace’s tally.
That being said, preparing for life post-Gallagher is far more prudent than resting hopes on the hypothetical chance he is made available to us both cheaply and indeed, at all.
It’s not truly clear as to where Conor Gallagher will stand this summer.
In that view, I’m throwing Nandez’s name into the ring as an ideal box-to-box midfielder that can complement both Will Hughes and James McArthur as a reliable long-term option. A stalwart of Serie A, the 26-year-old Uruguay international handed in a transfer request in the summer amid interest from Leeds, Tottenham and Inter. He clearly feels he is ready for a new challenge, and his quality is undeniable.
Conor Gallagher and Nahitan Nandez Season Heatmap (2021-2022)
In the summer, as per Fabrizio Romano, his price tag was ‘around €25/30m’ - so no cheaper than £21m. Although his contract expires in 2024, the £16.2m-rated man (Transfermarkt, 02/02/21) is certainly on the market.
Capable of playing on the right-hand side of the pitch either as a winger or central midfielder, Nandez is not one to shy away from controlling the ball with his feet (49.3 touches per 90). Although he only has two assists and has scored no goals this season, Nandez is excellent at providing his teammates with passes into the penalty area (1.34 per 90, 82nd percentile this season), as well as providing accurate crosses (2.61 per game, 98th percentile). The latter would be incredibly useful in a Palace team that has had issues delivering accurate crosses into the box for Benteke or Mateta.
Nandez is excellent at providing his teammates with passes into the penalty area.
While he would be unlikely to replace Gallagher’s goal output, he would be perfect in replacing Gallagher’s pressing and shot-creating actions. He is a master at carrying the ball into the penalty area (1.27 per 90, 99th percentile), he excels at pressuring his opponents close to their goal (5.42 per 90, 96th percentile), and at creating shooting chances for his teammates (2.28 shot-creating actions per 90, 53rd percentile). He has the perfect blend of youth, experience and work rate, and would command a much lower fee than Gallagher.
It might also be fair to earmark him as a long-term McArthur successor too, although Hughes is likely to fill those boots - either way, a space for a tenacious box-to-box workhorse is bound to come up. You won’t exactly find the vacancy on LinkedIn, but the demand to fill the role will certainly be high.
It might also be fair to earmark him as a long-term McArthur successor too.
With an eye to slip away from his man and play forward, he also has a strong palette of technical, tactical, leadership, and physical abilities for Vieira to experiment with. He is excellent on his feet and very hard to go past (54% tackling success versus dribblers), while at the same time being incredibly tidy in possession (only 4 turnovers per 90).
Ultimately, he’s unsettled, versatile and adds so much quality off the ball. He’s one of Serie A’s finest yet most underrated talents (probably because of his low goal return). He could fill the Gallagher void superbly if it comes about.
❤️💙