Crystal Palace may have waved goodbye to key man Wilfried Zaha this week, but another big name could soon be arriving at Selhurst Park in Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah.
Who are Crystal Palace's forwards?
Zaha's departure to Galatasaray on a free transfer will leave a huge void to be filled, the winger departing the club he has called home for close to two decades, either side of a doomed spell with Manchester United.
Palace still have talented pair Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze, assuming they fend off interest from top-flight rivals, but their squad is otherwise looking a little bare in attack.
Jean-Philippe Mateta struggled in his first season at Selhurst Park and may be moved on this summer, which would leave Jordan Ayew and Odsonne Edouard as Roy Hodgson's only senior forwards.
However, according to TheEaglesBeak, via football.london, Palace are looking to bolster their ranks and have made signing Nketiah their priority between now and the end of the transfer window on September 1.
How many goals has Eddie Nketiah scored?
Nketiah has made 89 Premier League appearances for Arsenal, but he has found the net just 14 times, while his overall record for the Gunners is 32 goals in 131 appearances.
The 24-year-old was called upon by Mikel Arteta in the midst of a tense title race with Manchester City last season after Gabriel Jesus sustained an injury that ruled him out for three months.
Nketiah initially took full advantage of his big chance by scoring six goals in six games in all competitions, including a double in Arsenal's thrilling 3-2 win over Manchester United in January.
That led to praise from captain Martin Odegaard, who hailed Nketiah for the "amazing" manner in which he stepped up to lead the line in Jesus' absence.
However, Nketiah – on wages of £100k-a-week at the Emirates Stadium, according to Capology – did not score in his next 14 appearances and ended the 2022-23 season with four goals in 30 appearances.
Still, Nketiah's return of 0.33 goals per 90 minutes in the Premier League last season, as per FBref, was bettered by only Eze – just – among Palace players last season (0.34). Nketiah's 0.41 goals and assists combined per 90, meanwhile, was near enough on a par with Olise (0.43).
In fact, Nketiah's figures were a lot better than he was perhaps given credit for. According to FBref's comparison model, the Englishman was very alike Manchester United's Marcus Rashford in a number of metrics last season.
Nketiah and Rashford fired away shots at an almost identical rate per 90 minutes (3.39 v 3.38 respectively), had a very similar pass-completion rate (80.4% v 76.7%), and likewise when it came to progressive carries per 90 (2.64 v 2.66).
While Rashford did register more goals and more assists than Nketiah, the pair recorded an identical expected assisted goals figure of 0.11 per 90, effectively meaning that they created the same quality of chances for teammates.
That is not to say Nketiah is on a par with Rashford, but should he be given a regular run of starts in a team full of talented young players, it may well be that he finally gets a chance to truly fulfil his potential at a London club.