Crystal Palace Told to Increase Offer in Pursuit of Lille Defender Ibrahim Amadou

Crystal Palace have been told that they will have to increase their initial offer if they hope to land Lille defensive midfielder Ibrahim Amadou in the January transfer window. 

It has already been reported that Palace have made an initial offer of £16m to sign Amadou, which fell just short of Lille's valuation of their player and, according the French news outlet L'Équipe, Lille have demanded €20m for the 24-year-old. 

Amadou is a versatile defensive midfielder who is also capable of playing in the centre of defence, which could be particularly useful for Crystal Palace who currently have an injury crisis at the back. Mamadou Sakho has been ruled out with a serious calf injury, while Scott Dann is also set for a lengthy absence after he picked up a knee ligament injury against Manchester City. 

Palace will almost certainly look for some defensive reinforcements in the January window, and an agreement for Amadou looks to be edging closer to completion. 

Under manager Roy Hodgson, Palace have fought themselves out of the relegation zone. However, their battle for survival is far from over as they are only two points of bottom three. The Eagles will need to strengthen if they hope to keep their survival hopes alive. Lille are themselves fighting at the bottom of their league table. The French club are labouring in 18th in the Ligue 1 table and may be reluctant to sell one of their key players.  

Palace may also need to keep battling with other clubs over Amadou's signature. Reports also state that Bordeaux have made a bid for the player, but it is less that the reported offer made by the Eagles.