Crystal Palace and Ipswich are set to test Liverpool’s resolve to keep Ben Doak by making improved bids worth £20m for the Scotland forward.
Both clubs had opening offers of £15m rejected last week, with Liverpool thought to be holding out for closer to £30m for the 19-year-old, who is on loan at Middlesbrough.
Palace want to bolster their attacking options having struggled for goals. They are expected to return with another offer in the coming days, with the sporting director, Dougie Freedman, having identified Doak as the primary target after watching him on several occasions in the Championship for Michael Carrick’s side. He has scored twice and provided six assists in 21 appearances there and made his Scotland debut in September after being named in Steve Clarke’s squad for Euro 2024 but having to withdraw injured.
Palace hope an improved offer may tempt Liverpool into selling a player they signed from Celtic in March 2022 after paying about £600,000 in compensation. Ipswich have also been heavily tracking Doak’s progress and are ready to rival Palace’s bid. Fulham and Brentford have also been linked with a move for Doak, the EFL’s young player of the month in November.
It is understood Palace have considered making an offer for Lyon’s Rayan Cherki, who is available for about £15m and is also wanted by Atalanta.
But any hopes of bringing Wilfried Zaha back to Selhurst Park on loan have been scuppered by Fifa regulations that stipulate players are only eligible to play official matches for two clubs in the same season. The Ivory Coast forward – who attended Palace’s game against Arsenal last month – was a substitute in Galatasaray’s 5-0 Turkish Super Cup defeat to Besiktas in August before joining Lyon on loan, where he has made only one league start.
Oliver Glasner is also keen to bolster his options at wing-back and in midfield and Palace had a £12.5m bid for Senegal left-back El Hadji Malick Diouf rejected by Slavia Prague last week. Lens rejected an approach from Palace for the France Under-21 midfielder Andy Diouf as concerns grow over the long-term absence of Adam Wharton, who had groin surgery at the end of last year and has missed 11 matches.
Glasner admitted last week he was unsure when the England midfielder will be back. “We are trying to find solutions,” he said. “To be honest, at the moment, we didn’t find the right ones – that’s why it takes longer and longer.”
Bournemouth have joined West Ham and Stuttgart in the race to sign the Brighton striker Evan Ferguson after Evanilson had surgery on a broken foot. Ferguson has made 14 appearances this season, scoring once, and could be allowed to leave on loan. Bournemouth have made an initial inquiry as they react to the loss of Evanilson for an extended period.
Brighton are yet to decide whether to sanction Ferguson’s departure. The 20-year-old has had a difficult 18 months but he remains highly rated and Brighton could need cover because of Danny Welbeck’s fitness issues.
Bournemouth have signed the 19-year-old left-back Julio Soler from the Argentinian club Lanús.
