According to ESPNFC, a source has reported that Crystal Palace is one of the many Premier League clubs chasing after England’s U-19 captain Taylor Moore. The other clubs in the running are West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspurs, and Southampton.
Moore spent time with West Ham’s youth academy before his family moved to France at the age of seven. The 18-year-old currently plays for Ligue 2 side Lens, where the defender has made five appearances for the first team.
ESPN’s source claims that Tottenham, West Ham, Crystal Palace, and Southampton have all sent scouts to watch him and England’s U-19s take on Georgia, Greece, and Spain in the next five days.
Because of Moore’s upbringing away from England, reports have been comparing the Lens’ defender to Tottenham’s Eric Dier, who grew up playing with Sporting’s academy in Portugal.
Back in August, the 18-year-old told the Daily Mail:
I admire Eric Dier very much, he’s got the exact same story as me. He’s been brought up in Portugal and played his football out there and I admire him for making the leap back over to England and doing as well as he did last season.I still feel I’m far from what I could possibly do. Dier moved back at the right time. I think it would be interesting to see what I could still achieve out here in France.
Moore’s club, Lens, currently sit seventh in Ligue 2. With all of these Premier League clubs circling around the defender, it is unlikely the 18-year-old will stay with the French side. It seems that the Spurs are favoured for the defender at the moment, but if Crystal Palace is able to woo Moore, he’d be an excellent star for the future.
