Crystal Palace are set to be beaten to the signing of Jamaican international Michael Hector, with him instead signing for Chelsea, according to the Daily Mail (among other sources). The Reading man had been a target for Alan Pardew, but when Jose Mourinho’s Blues came calling, the allure of Stamford Bridge was too much.
Hector has spent much of his time at Reading away from the club, but since the 2013-14 season (bar the loan spell he had at Aberdeen) he’d remained at the club, and last season appeared 41 times in the Championship. He’s already pulled on a Royals shirt 4 times this campaign.
That has earned him a £4 million move to Chelsea, but he’s likely to immediately be loaned back to Reading, with the central defenders already entrenched too strongly at Stamford Bridge.
This news leaves Palace almost without the defender they’ve spent deadline day targeting, although press in Newcastle has mentioned them as potential suitors of Toon defender Paul Dummett, who worked with Pardew when he was the manager at St. James’ Park.
