ENGLISH Premier League side Crystal Palace is planning to put in a £4.7m bid for Queens Park Rangers (QPR) winger Bright Osayi-Samuel in a last ditch attempt to prevent him leaving for Belgian side Club Brugge.
Born in Benin, Edo State, Osayi-Samuel, 22 was one of the stand-out performers in the English Championship last season, dazzling fans with his quick feet and scintillating displays. Like clubmate and compatriot Ebere Eze, Osayi-Samuel caught the eye of several clubs across Europe and Club Brugge moved in quickly with a £4.7m bid, which QPR accepted.
With QPR failing to get promoted to the Premier League, there has been a deluge in offers for the club’s highly talented young squad, with the likes of Ebere and Osayi-Samuel certain to leave. Hoping to lure the winger with the offer of keeping him in London, Crystal Palace are planning to match Brugge’s offer.
Osayi-Samuel’s contract with QPR expires next summer and he had already turned down a new long-term extension, prompting the club to look at a sale. Crystal Palace is desperate to improve its squad ahead of next season as it does not enough goals and is currently over-dependent on Ivorian Winfried Zaha for goals.
Osayi-Samuel scored five goals and provided eight assists in 34 Championship starts last season, rivalling Ebere Eze as the club’s most productive player. Both players are eligible to play for Nigeria but neither has been capped yet and Super Eagles head coach Gernot Rohr will be keen to tie both of them down as they could play for England too.
