Report: Vieira now thinks he can beat Arsenal to £15m international after landing Ebiowei ahead of Spurs

By Lee Connor

Crystal Palace are hoping to beat Arsenal to the signing of Mal midfielder, Cheick Doucoure, according to a report from The Daily Mail.

Palace manager Patrick Vieira is already happy with himself for seeing off Tottenham in the race to sign Malcolm Ebiowei from Derby County. And after beating one north London team to a deal, the Palace boss now hopes to do the same with Doucoure.

The Mail reports that talks are planned with Doucoure and his club, RC Lens, over the next 48 hours. It’s claimed that Arsenal have taken an interest in signing the Mali star as well. Of course, the Gunners have signed Fabio Vieira, so how concrete their interest in Doucoure is now is another question altogether.

Doucoure, 22, has been one of the standout players for Lens in recent times. Predominantly a defensive midfielder, he made 37 appearances last season for the French outfit.

The midfielder already had eight caps for Mali and remarkably, has wracked up in excess of 100 appearances for Lens as well. That sort of experience at such a young age will appeal to Vieira and Palace, who enjoyed a fine first season together last year.

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Which, in essence, is good news for Crystal Palace and Vieira. The Palace boss is shopping in a different market to the the Gunners but Doucoure must have something about him if he was identified by Edu as a potential signing.

For Palace, the time is now for them to strengthen and kick on after a good season. They played some good football last season and have some exciting and athletic players in the ranks.

At 22, Doucoure ticks a lot of boxes and at a reported £15m, he won’t break the bank either.