Roy Hodgson Admits Crystal Palace Must Recruit in January to Sustain Lofty Ambitions

Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson admits his side must strengthen in defence and up front if they are to challenge for a place in the top six.

The Eagles are currently sixth in the Premier League after fighting back from a goal down to beat West Ham 2-1 at the London Stadium, thanks to goals from Patrick van Aanholt and Jordan Ayew - the latter being awarded by VAR, after the assistant referee had initially raised his flag for offside.

Palace are, however, short of options in their squad, with Christian Benteke the only other recognised striker at Selhurst Park. The Belgian has been out-of-sorts though for the best part of 18 months and Alexander Sorloth departed in the summer - often leaving talismanic winger Wilfried Zaha to pick up the slack for his side.

As a result, Hodgson has admitted, in quotes carried by the Evening Standard, that reinforcements are required in order to push the club on further.

“Most people will tell you that they are expecting the clubs with the vast amounts to spend on quality players to assert themselves over 38 games," Hodgson began.

"If we are going to get close, we are going to have to make certain that we are not reliant on so few forwards and full-backs. That is something we will have to address in the January transfer window.”

Palace's good start to the season has been welcomed in south London, as they prepare for a tough run of fixtures following the conclusion of the upcoming international break.

They face Manchester City, Arsenal, Leicester, Chelsea and Liverpool in their next five fixtures - all of whom will be in the mix to rival Palace for a surprise top six place, should they retain the current momentum which has earned them 14 points from their opening eight games.

Source : 90min