Crystal Palace close to completing deal for Oliver Glasner-loving Europa League winner
Crystal Palace are closing in on the signings of former Lazio midfielder Daichi Kamada and Barcelona defender Chadi Riad.
Japan international Kamada played with Oliver Glasner in Eintracht Frankfurt.
Kamada, who is currently available on a free transfer after failing to agree a deal with Lazio, likes to play in an attacking role.
With crystal Palace starring Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze, both Attracting great attention from other clubs. This summer, Kamada could be a very valuable option for Palace next season should they lose the pair.
The midfielder is no stranger to success, having won the European League with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2022.
He had made a significant contribution to the club's run to victory, having scored the winning goal in a 2–1 victory over West Ham in the first leg of the semi-final.
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He also scored in the penalty shootout of the final against Rangers, which Frankfurt eventually won 5-4.
And their manager at the time of the Europa League victory was none other than current Crystal Palace boss Glasner.
Glasner is well aware of Kamada's potential value for the London club, having coincided with him between 2021 and 2023 in Frankfurt.
The 27-year-old scored 40 goals in 179 total appearances for Frankfurt during his total time at the club.
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And Austrian coach Glasner clearly valued Kamada's contributions, with 25 of those goals and 93 of those appearances during his tenure as coach.
Both Kamada and Glasner left Frankfurt at the end of the 2022/23 season after a disappointing run.
Kamada then joined Lazio in 2023, where he has since scored two goals in 38 appearances, but a new contract with the Italian team fell through.
He could now reunite with Glasner at Selhurst Park as the Austrian has achieved some impressive results in the second half of the Premier League season.
And it looks like he would be a perfect pairing at this revitalized Palace, having demonstrated his all-round attacking ability during his time in Germany.
Toby Gilles, talkSPORT Bundesliga commentator and Eintracht Frankfurt fan:
“Kamada absolutely transformed under Glasner in Frankfurt.
“He had always shown promise, but Glasner gave him a much freer role, starting as a number 10 but sometimes also from the left, he became a king of goals and assists.
“He is one of those players who floats during games, really elegant and intelligent in his careers. Also selfless: he gave 13 assists in Adi Hutter's last Bundesliga season with Frankfurt, but Glasner made him more selfish, seeing more potential scorer, which was proven to be correct.
“I'm not really sure why it didn't work out at Lazio, but if Palace get it and Glasner can revive it, it will be a BIG coup. Given the way he is setting up Palace, very similar to the way he set up Frankfurt. Kamada feels He will be assigned a floating role behind the striker with attacking sides in a 3-4-2-1 system.
“The only negative I see for Palace fans is that he looks a lot like an Eze-type player coming in… and I can't imagine Kamada would be happy playing a supporting role.”
Meanwhile, Palace have also agreed a £15m deal to sign Moroccan international Riad from Barcelona.
The 20-year-old centre-back was on loan last season at Real Betis, where he played 30 games and helped the club qualify for the Europa Conference League with a seventh-place finish in LaLiga.
His loan deal included the option for Betis to complete a permanent deal at the end of the season, but Palace decided to sign him after talks with both Spanish clubs.
Riad is seen as a replacement for another Palace star expected to leave this summer, with several clubs lining up to sign England international Marc Guehi.
