by Mosope Ominiyi

Alan Pardew’s men are reportedly intrigued by the possibility of signing Joel Campbell whether that be on a loan spell with an option to buy, or a straight-forward transfer deal.

Arséne Wenger has plenty of attacking options, and the Costa Rican star, who impressed during their World Cup campaign last year, has struggled to force his way into the Gunners side.

Despite featuring in the Emirates Cup this time last term, he has been particularly unconvincing when called upon – and was sent out on a loan spell to La Liga club Villarreal in January.

In twenty-two appearances with the Yellow Submarine, he only notched up one goal and no assists in all competitions last season. Hardly eye-catching, in all honesty.

Joel Campbell for Costa Rica v Mexico
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – JULY 19: Joel Campbell #12 of Costa Rica tries to get around Jonathan do Santos #8 of Mexico during the quarterfinals of the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup at MetLife Stadium on July 19, 2015 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

Considering all of the players at his disposal, and Campbell’s contract situation which just happens to expire next summer, Wenger would be keen to offload him for a decent sum of money if he could do so now.

Palace have already signed Yohan Cabaye from Paris Saint-Germain for a record transfer fee of £10million pounds, and the 23-year-old forward could be available for half of that. Benfica are amongst a few other European sides interested in the player, so a bidding war may commence if a loan swoop is not settled within the coming weeks.

Campbell had a possible route into the first-team, but after an underwhelming effort in a few loan spells, he’s virtually surplus to requirements with plenty of talented youngsters coming through the ranks thick and fast.