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According to Belgian outlet Het Laatste Nieuws, Gent are keen on making their loan deal for Alexander Sorloth permanent in the summer. However, surely they will appreciate the difficulty of the task at hand considering the inflated fee Palace paid to bring the Norwegian to Selhurst Park in January 2018.

While the striker has flopped massively in his first year at SE25, Palace should not be so keen to offload him at the first chance they get and should accept no less than what the 23-year-old commanded when he was brought across the channel from Midtjylland.

What’s the word?

Well, Het Laatste Nieuws report Gent board member Michel Louwagie told ‘Extra Time’ that the club are keen to make the hitman’s loan spell at the cleverly-named KAA Gent Stadium permanent having been impressed with his output on loan.

The powerful forward has netted three times and chalked up an assist for the Belgian outfit in nine appearances and that strike-rate has apparently convinced Gent officials that they would be keen on signing him in the summer.

Het Laatste Nieuws believes that Palace’s asking fee could prove a sticking point if they wish to recoup most of the £9m paid to bring Sorloth to the Premier League. The number 10 certainly hasn’t repaid that figure yet but the Eagles would be mad to let him go for any less.

Pointless sale

January saw seven Palace players through the exit door, with Sorloth joined by Jason Puncheon, Jonny Williams and Jordon Mutch, to name but a few, in what many surely saw as a positive move for the club – the aforementioned quartet are widely regarded as deadwood.

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Unlike the other names, Sorloth has a long way to go in his career yet and could still come good for the Eagles. He has shown glimpses of quality in the FA Cup and Palace’s squad isn’t getting any younger so they would be wise to hold onto their fresher faces.

With a lack of spending in recent windows, selling players on after just a year for less than what they were bought for is terrible business, particularly when that player has proven at other clubs that he can do the business in front of goal.

There may still be hope yet for Sorloth and casting him off cheaply would be a bad move.