Crystal Palace move for Lille defender Ibrahim Amadou

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Bengaluru, January 5: Premier League strugglers Crystal Palace have reportedly made a £16million bid for Lille centre-half Ibrahim Amadou.

The South London club have contacted the French club about the Cameroon-born star, who could help solve their injury crisis.

The 24-year-old was a Palace target in the summer window and reports in England recently revealed they are back in for the centre-back again.

Last year the clubs could not agree a fee and the Eagles eventually paid more to land Mamadou Sakho from Liverpool in a £26m deal.

There has been a fresh move for Amadou and the player would jump at the Premier League switch.

Sakho is also sidelined with a calf strain and Scott Dann faces spending the rest of the season on the sidelines.

Amadou is very strong in the air and is hardly outmuscled by strikers. Plus, he boasts a pretty good passing ability.

The Frenchman can also play as a defensive sitter, but the immediate vacancy is at the back and Hodgson wants a new face to plug that hole.

Hodgson had previously said a centre-back was not a position he was recruiting for until recent injuries.

Dann was carried off on a stretcher in the 0-0 draw with Manchester City, with Palace confirming he and Jason Puncheon have suffered knee ligament damage.

Last week he said: "The subject of signing another centre-back has never come up because we weren't expecting Sakho and Dann to be out for long periods of time.

"But who knows now? There will be discussions. Football is an ever-revolving subject.

"What you think is good in your team at one time suddenly a moment in time changes it all."

Palace sit 14th in the table right now despite their resurgence under Roy Hodgson and the forer English manager knows there is still a lot of work to be done to ensure safety given the quality many of the struggling sides possess.