Niasse is not a better option than Solanke to solve Crystal Palace’s striking woes

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Crystal Palace have made a bid for Everton outcast Oumar Niasse to help solve their goalscoring issues, according to the Sun.

Injury to Christian Benteke has left Roy Hodgson’s side short of goals and the former England manager is reportedly ready to spend £6.5 million on Niasse to plug the gap.

Everton will apparently not stand in the way of Niasse’s departure, despite the fact that accepting Palace’s bid would see them make a £7 million loss on a player signed by Roberto Martinez, back in January 2013.

Palace were interested in Niasse’s Merseyside rival Dominic Solanke of Liverpool, but have abandoned that approach in favour of a swoop for the 28-year-old.

It is tough to see how Niasse represents a better option than Solanke for the Eagles. Both men have suffered badly with a lack of gametime, but Solanke’s form on international duty with England Under 21s shows he is still sharp despite that.

Solanke has fantastic potential that could be unlocked by playing regularly, either side of Wilfried Zaha and Andros Townsend – even if Hodgson would need to wait a little while to see it.

Niasse, on the other hand, has only flickered briefly during a loan spell at Hull in 2017 and even a reunion with his former Tigers boss Marco Silva has not served to transform the fortunes of a player who has not looked good enough to cut it in the English top flight.

Hodgson’s window rests on the firepower he can get in through the door this month, and ditching Solanke in favour of Niasse does not look like a strong start on that score.