CRYSTAL PALACE are keen to sign Lyon midfield magician Rayan Cherki — and hope John Textor can help with the deal.
Palace see Cherki, 21, as their missing link after the loss of Michael Olise to Bayern Munich in the last window.
Cherki was watched by Palace last night and could be sold for around £20million as Lyon are under orders to raise cash or be relegated next season.
Lyon owner Textor is currently in dispute with Palace after trying to buy Everton. But he could be key in sorting a fee between the clubs.
However, the final decision will lie with Cherki, who turned down interest from Fulham in the past.
Palace are currently in the relegation zone having lost six of their 12 Premier League matches so far this season.
And manager Oliver Glasner is desperate to bring in attacking and defensive reinforcements in the upcoming transfer window.
The Austrian said: “It’s not so difficult to analyse our squad.
“We have a lot of midfielders – Adam Wharton, Will Hughes, Jefferson Lerma and Cheick Doucoure.
“It wouldn’t make sense to add a new central midfielder.
BEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERS
FORMER defender Oliver Glasner is a Europa League-winning manager.
The Austrian, 49, spent his entire playing career in his homeland, and was a one-club man, playing 516 times over 19 years for SV Reid.
But he was forced to retire in terrifying circumstances when he developed a brain haemorrhage after heading a ball in training.
Emergency surgery saved his life but it spelled the end of him playing career, aged 37.
Thankfully, Glasner recovered and embarked upon what has become a very successful coaching career.
He reached out to Ralf Rangnick for a job and became sports coordinator and assistant manager at Red Bull Salzburg.
Glasner was handed his first managerial role at former club SV Ried in 2014, guiding the club to a sixth-place finish in the Austrian Bundesliga.
He then moved on to LASK, where he served as both manager and director of football between 2015 and 2019.
During that time, LASK won promotion back to the top-flight and returned to Europe before a second-place finish in Glasner’s final season in charge.
Following his success at LASK, Glasner moved to Germany with Wolfsburg in 2019.
After securing Champions League football in 2021, the Austrian moved to Frankfurt.
His maiden season with the club would end with European glory, as Frankfurt beat Rangers on penalties in the Europa League final.
The triumph earned the club their third European trophy and first since 1980.
Glasner left the Eagles last summer after a seventh-place finish and a run to the Champions League last 16.
“It’s the same at the back with Chadi Riad and Chris Richards now coming back.
“We have Trevoh Chalobah, Maxence Lacroix and Marc Guehi. We have Nathaniel Clyne and Joel Ward who can play in this position – we have enough.
“In our attack, especially with Matheus Franca, which is the most disappointing for himself, because he really worked hard on his rehab and was a very important player in our planning.
“But he hasn’t been available and that means we don’t have as many numbers.
“We have missed him for the whole start of the season, so it’s clear we want to add an attacking player.”
He added: “When we look at the left wing-back position, maybe we don’t have many left-footed wing-backs.”
Palace will be back in action next Saturday, welcoming Newcastle United to Selhurst Park.
