Crystal Palace are in the midst of an exciting summer transfer window and now Dougie Freedman is attempting to add a Kevin de Bruyne regen.
Crystal Palace have made two signings already, with a third on a trial at the club in the form of Ryan Sessegnon and now a fourth is being looked at.
Dougie Freedman is looking to further strengthen Glasner’s options by signing Aster Vranckx from Wolfsburg.
Palace are said to be pushing to sign Vranckx for what appears to be an £8m fee this summer, and now Belgium have been knocked out of Euro 2024.
This signing is one which would excite many fans as he is a one-time Golden Boy nominee who hasn’t quite reached his potential just yet.
Glasner could find the challenge of helping the £46k-a-week midfielder reach his full potential an interesting one. But comparisons to Kevin de Bruyne show exactly what he could be.
Aster Vranckx has been compared with Kevin de Bruyne
Despite being just 21, Vranckx has already been at multiple clubs, one of which being a loan to AC Milan in 2022.
Upon his arrival at the Serie A club, Vranckx had a ‘6 things to know’ article written about him by the official club website.
Milan compared Vranckx’s style of play to his Belgian teammate De Bruyne with both also wearing the Wolfsburg kit which is another interesting similarity.
Vranckx has also been compared with Alex Witsel by the official Bundesliga website which proves he is in good company and Palace can be excited about his potential arrival.
But if he were to arrive at Selhurst Park, what can fans expect to get from a player of his quality?
What would Vranckx bring to Selhurst Park?
Despite comparisons to De Bruyne, Vranckx’s qualities actually lie off the ball and in the defensive aspects of the game.
This can be seen in his FBRef profile which compares him with West Ham’s Edson Alvarez and Aston Villa new boy Enzo Barrenechea.
- Tackles 2.50 per 90 – 79th percentile
- Interceptions 1.09 per 90 – 64th percentile
- Blocks 1.33 per 90 – 63rd percentile
- Clearances 2.26 per 90 – 93rd percentile
- Aerials won 1.17 per 90 – 67th percentile
- Successful take ons 1.25 per 90 – 88th percentile
So if he was to arrive at Selhurst Park, he’d be more of a Jefferson Lerma or Adam Wharton alternative than anything else.
With the exit of Jairo Riedewald coming earlier in this window as his contract expired, Vranckx would likely initially take his place in the squad.
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