Crystal Palace now odds-on to sign Arsenal star in January
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Sam Allardyce certainly isn’t messing around. Having been appointed as Crystal Palace manager last Friday, he’s identified an area of his team which needs strengthening.
Step forward, Kieran Gibbs.
The two-time FA Cup winner is now just 1/2 for a Selhurst Park move when the winter transfer window opens next week.
Despite boasting by far the best goal tally in the bottom-half of the Premier League, it’s the Eagles’ defensive frailties which have cost them vital points in their opening 18 games of this campaign.
They’ve already conceded 33 goals, and that’s over double the amount which they shipped after as many games last campaign.
And if Big Sam is known for one thing, it’s certainly not a wobbly defence.
Gibbs has become somewhat a bit-part player at the Emirates in recent years. And with only five top-flight starts to his name since the beginning of the 2015-16 campaign, it’s thought the 27-year-old is weighing up his options as he approaches the best years of his career.
That may well mean a move to south London could be on the cards, where he’d certainly play a key role for Allardyce.
A favourite amongst Gooners, Gibbs has been unfortunate in his career with the club to date, having once been considered as a successor to Ashley Cole.
And just when it looked as though he’d made the left-back spot his own, Arsene Wenger signed Nacho Monreal, who has since featured for the Gunners on 105 occasions in the league.
The Spaniard has had a shaky season so far though, and there’s talk that Gibbs could be given a run in the first-team in the coming weeks.
But it seems more likely that Wenger will opt for a new arrival as a long-term replacement for 30-year-old Monreal, leaving the England international out in the cold once again.
There were whispers of a move to Liverpool back in the summer – but Jurgen Klopp is seemingly content with James Milner filling Gibbs’ area of the field for the time being.
And while West Ham are also in the running for the Arsenal man’s signature at 16/1, it’s their London rivals Crystal Palace who look most likely to seal a deal at 1/2.
But what do you think? Would Palace supporters welcome Gibbs to Selhurst Park, or do Gooners think Wenger would be crazy to let him go?
Have your say in the comments section below!
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
