Crystal Palace target Christian Kouame had 'already been sold' to Eagles before injury saw deal collapse

Crystal Palace had everything in place to sign Christian Kouame from Genoa last month before his injury scuppered a deal and allowed Fiorentina to take a gamble.

Palace had made the forward a top target for January as Hodgson looked to add some bite to his goal-shy forward line, only for Kouame to suffer a cruciate ligament injury.

That injury meant Palace understandably pulled out of any deal and moved to bring in Cenk Tosun on loan from Everton as an alternative.

Fiorentina, however, were prepared to take the risk. Despite Kouame not being available until April at the very earliest, the Italians agreed a loan deal with Genoa which will become permanent in the summer.

"Christian had already been sold to Crystal Palace," Fiorentina director Daniele Prade told CalcioNews24. "The injury blocked everything and we took the ball. A decision taken by mutual agreement with the president.

“Christian is a strong footballer. Buying an injured player in January might seem like a risk, but it isn’t. His treatment was done well and he may be on the pitch in April even if we are aiming for next season.”

Palace had a poor run of luck in January with a late move for West Brom's Nathan Ferguson also falling through due to a knee injury flagged in his medical.

Palace returned to West Brom with a revised offer on the basis that Ferguson would undergo surgery and likely miss the rest of the season, but no agreement could be reached.

Palace will continue to monitor the fitness of Ferguson - who finally underwent surgery last week - before making a decision on whether to snap him up in the summer, when the 19-year-old will be a free agent.