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Crystal Palace: Imagine £55k-p/w “warrior” and Olise
A strong partnership on the right could be brewing for Crystal Palace…
What’s the latest Crystal Palace transfer news?
According to the Daily Mail, the Eagles have ‘shown an interest’ in signing Arsenal’s Takehiro Tomiyasu this summer.
However, given Jurrien Timber’s devastating ACL injury, the right-back could be set for a more prominent role in the squad.
Would Takehiro Tomiyasu be a good signing for Crystal Palace?
Tomiyasu joined Arsenal in the summer of 2021 for a reported fee of £16m.
Upon his arrival, Mikel Arteta was extremely satisfied with the signing and said:
“Takehiro is a strong defender with good experience in Serie A and at international level. He’s a versatile defender with great defensive qualities, high technical ability and composure on the ball. He will be an important member of our squad.”
Since then, the 32-cap international has accumulated 55 appearances in all competitions for the Gunners. In his debut year in the English capital, Tomiyasu made 20 Premier League starts, averaging 1.7 tackles per game, completing 60% of his dribbles, and winning 55% of his duels.
However, the £55k-per-week titan’s progress has been hampered by injury issues, having missed 23 games in two years due to separate knee and calf problems.
Tomiyasu is still highly regarded in the Arsenal dressing room, with teammate Ben White saying:
“Tomi is amazing. He’s always focused, it’s an honour to play next to him.
“Tomi does the simple things at a world-class level. He is very alert and he isn’t careless in games.”
White’s comments are supported by Tomiyasu’s quality in the defensive and offensive thirds. The former is showcased by his rank in the best 11% in Europe’s top five leagues among his positional peers for tackles per 90, interceptions per 90, and aerials won per 90.
The Japan “warrior” – as he was once lauded by former teammate Mitchell Dijks – has also displayed he is technical and comfortable on the ball, sitting within the highest 1% in Europe’s top five leagues among his positional peers for progressive passes per 90, as well as the best 21% for pass completion per 90 and touches in the attacking penalty area per 90.
