{"id":562674,"date":"2020-08-20T05:45:20","date_gmt":"2020-08-20T09:45:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonfootball.com\/?p=562674"},"modified":"2020-08-20T05:45:20","modified_gmt":"2020-08-20T09:45:20","slug":"crystal-palace-bid-for-bella-kotchap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2020\/08\/20\/crystal-palace-bid-for-bella-kotchap\/","title":{"rendered":"REPORT: Crystal Palace Bid for Armel Bella-Kotchap"},"content":{"rendered":"

Crystal Palace<\/a>\u00a0submitted an offer for 18-year-old defender Armel Bella-Kotchap according to Matt Woosnam of The Athletic.<\/a><\/p>\n

Palace continue to be linked with the Bochum youngster and recently placed a formal bid.<\/p>\n

REPORT: Crystal Palace Place Offer for Armel Bella-Kotchap<\/h2>\n

Palace Bid for Bella-Kotchap<\/h3>\n

Palace’s bid for Bella-Kotchap appears to be close to Bochum’s valuation of the player<\/a>. However, the price of the club’s opening bid has not been disclosed.<\/p>\n

The Bundesliga 2 side seem willing to sell their highly-rated 18-year-old defender, who has made just 14 senior appearances for the club.<\/p>\n

Bochum could also demand a generous fee for Bella-Kotchap. His current contract expires in June 2024.<\/p>\n

European Interest<\/h3>\n

Bella-Kotchap impressed for Bochum in his 14 appearances and also represented Germany at U18 level. The teenager could also represent both Cameroon and France.<\/p>\n

The centre-back attracted interest from a host of clubs across Europe earlier this season, including from other Premier League<\/a> teams.<\/p>\n

Bell-Kotchap shone in Bochum’s narrow 2-1 loss to Bundesliga<\/a> champions Bayern Munich<\/a> in the German Cup in October.<\/p>\n

The defender kept clinical goal-scorer\u00a0Robert Lewandowski<\/a>\u00a0quiet throughout the match.<\/p>\n

The young German made his senior debut for Bochum late in the 2018\/19 season against FC Erzgebirge Aue.<\/p>\n

Since then, he has slowly become a regular feature in the first-team, whilst continuing to play in the U19 Bundesliga West.<\/p>\n

Palace Looking Towards Youth<\/h3>\n

Palace’s move for Bella-Kotchap shows their willingness to look towards younger players for the future.<\/p>\n

19-year-old Nathan Ferguson<\/a> arrived at the end of last season. The Eagles also signed 18-year-old Scott Banks in January.<\/p>\n

Last season, Palace fielded the team with the oldest averaged age in the Premier League (29). This season, and in the future, they’ll be desperate to lower that number.<\/p>\n

If the Palace offer is accepted, it will be interesting to see whether the 18-year-old will be used in the development squad or in the first team.<\/p>\n

It’s likely the defender will receive similar paying time as he did at Bochum. He will probably move between the first team and the youth team as he builds experience.<\/p>\n

Main Photo
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>