Crystal Palace, Chelsea, Brighton & West Ham Set for Bidding War Over CSKA Moscow's Fyodor Chalov
By Josh Sim
CSKA Moscow are hoping to create a bidding war for striker Fyodor Chalov, with four Premier League clubs, including Crystal Palace, interested in signing the Russian international this summer.
Palace had offered £14m for the forward last summer, but were turned down by the Horses. Nevertheless, they remain interested in signing the 21-year-old.
However, this time they will have to fend off numerous other clubs, who are all interested in gaining his signature.
And the Daily Star are reporting that CSKA plan to offer Chalov to multiple interested teams. They include Premier League outfits Chelsea, West Ham and Brighton - all three teams have enquired about the attacker over the last year. He is currently valued at around £25m.
The striker has not had the prolific season fans of CSKA may have hoped for, as he has only scored six goals in 31 games for the Russian club this season. In the previous campaign, he was far more potent and scored 17 in 37 games.
Yet the Russian club, are of the belief that the 21-year-old will still attract interest from several clubs, with scouts convinced he has the potential to be a world class player.
And Palace are expected to place another bid for the forward, with sporting director Dougie Freedman said to be a fan of the Russian international. Manager Roy Hodgson has been keen on the addition of another goal-scoring attacker for a while now, and would welcome his arrival as well.
The Eagles' failed offer was referenced by Chalov's agent Christian Emile, who spoke about the interest in his client.
He said (via the Daily Star): “Fyodor is one of the most striking players in Europe, and the increased interest in him is completely justified. Especially from the side of one Premier League club, which made a significant offer, but CSKA refused to sell the player.
"The position of CSKA is completely understandable - and we will follow the development of events and are sure that in any case has a great future.”
With Palace also interested in signing former loanee Michy Batshuayi to fill their striker void, it seems likely that they will invest heavily in their attack, in order to offer help for the likes of Jordan Ayew and Wilfried Zaha.