Crystal Palace have reportedly lined up a strange succession plan should they lose key pair Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze this summer.
Palace to be picked apart?
It is no secret that Crystal Palace are currently home to some of the Premier League's most exciting talents, but they will be wary that may not be the case beyond this summer.
Winger Michael Olise and attacker Eberechi Eze both reminded everyone of their qualities over the weekend, starring in the 5-2 thrashing of West Ham United and helping lift Palace further clear of relegation fears.
Olise and Eze this season
Stat
Eberechi Eze
Michael Olise
Appearances
23
14
Goals
8
7
Assists
3
4
Starts together
6
6
Wins when starting together
4
4
Minutes played together
475
475
But both players are in demand this summer, with plenty of big clubs sniffing around the pair. Eze is attracting interest from both Manchester City and Tottenham, after City attempted to move for the Englishman last summer to no avail with Palace batting away their £60m offer.
They could do the same again this summer for the Englishman, who is under contract at Selhurst Park until 2027 after penning a new deal last summer.
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There is far less certainty around Olise though; after turning down Chelsea last summer after the blues activated his £35m release clause, he also signed a new deal in south London, but it is believed to contain a £65m release clause active this summer.
As a result, all of Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City are thought to be keeping a close eye on the silky Frenchman, who for his part is keen to only leave Palace for a Champions League club and could yet stay.
Should he leave though, Palace appear to have found a bizarre way to reinvest the funds.
Palace eyeing young midfielder
Though Palace replacing one young talent with another is no surprise, their decision on the person to target is. That comes as The Sun report that should they lose Olise and Eze, they will target Club Brugge midfielder Raphael Onyedika, who is traditionally a defensive midfielder.
They describe the 23-year-old as "one of the best young players in Europe", while it is added that he will cost interested parties around £20m to sign him this summer, with Brugge open to a sale. In fact, Dougie Freedman personally went to watch him turn out for Brugge last week, the report adds.
They will face competition for his signature, with previous reports having linked him with a move to Premier League rivals Nottingham Forest and Everton as well as Turkish outfit Galatasaray.
On the face of it, it would seem an odd move for Oliver Glasner's side. Predominantly a defensive midfielder, Onyedika averages a yellow card every 240 minutes across his league career and has scored just 11 goals in that time.
Palace, meanwhile, are already well stocked in that area. Cheick Doucoure will return to action next season, while Adam Wharton has been fantastic since arriving from Blackburn Rovers. They also signed Naouirou Ahamada in January 2023 in a bid to strengthen that area, and it is clear that creating and scoring is a much bigger problem for the Eagles if their stars leave.
Though available at a cut-price fee, would they not be better off investing their Olise income at the top end of the pitch?