Crystal Palace are still waiting to hear whether Wilfried Zaha intends to stay on at the club, but it appears Roy Hodgson's side are ready to bring in a new attacking player regardless.
Who are Crystal Palace signing?
Palace have so far signed only Jefferson Lerma this summer on a free transfer following his Bournemouth exit, but a few others could be set to follow.
Flamengo attacking midfielder Matheus Franca has been touted as a possible target for the Eagles, as have Arnaut Danjuma and Perr Schuurs of Villarreal and Torino respectively.
According to the Daily Mail, Southampton striker Che Adams is another player being eyed up by Hodgson to potentially lead Palace's attack this coming Premier League season.
The report suggests that Palace have enquired as to Adams' availability, but they may also face competition from London rivals Fulham – set to lose star striker Aleksandar Mitrovic – for a player valued at £15m by the Saints following their relegation to the Championship.
How many goals has Che Adams scored in the Premier League?
After proving himself in League One and the Championship, Adams has spent the past four seasons as a regular in the Premier League at Southampton.
The 23-cap Scotland international has scored 25 goals in 123 top-flight appearances, which is a hugely underwhelming figure on the face of it. However, he is a creative forward, as highlighted by his 0.9 key passes per game last season – as per WhoScored – which only James Ward-Prowse (1.9) could better among Southampton regulars.
On the basis of last season alone, Adams scored five goals and assisted three in a poor Southampton side – an average of 0.36 goals or assists per 90 minutes. As per FBref, that figure was bettered by only two Palace players – Michael Olise (0.43) and Eberechi Eze (0.48).
Zaha, incidentally, averaged 0.35 goal involvements (as did Odsonne Edouard), which shows that Adams did not have as bad a season as the figures initially suggest as he actually outperformed the Ivory Coast international in that regard.
There are other similarities between Adams and Zaha, in fact, given they both scored from 0.11 of the shots they attempted in the Premier League last season.
Adams has often been used as a substitute by Southampton, which may also be the case at Selhurst Park, and the 27-year-old previously earned praise from then-boss Ralph Hasenhuttl for the "fantastic" attitude he shows when being used as a backup player.
Beyond a steady number of goals and assists, Adams is also a threat in the air, ranking as he does in the top 22% of all forwards across Europe's top five leagues last season for aerial duels won, according to The Analyst.
Indeed, the 2.76 aerial duels Adams won per 90 last season was bettered only by Jean-Philippe Mateta (3.02) among Palace players.
Adams would not be a like-for-like replacement for wide player Zaha, of course, and the signing would not exactly get supporters out on the streets celebrating, but it could be a shrewd piece of business for the Eagles as they bring in a player who has showed he can do a job in the top flight.