Crystal Palace are in pole position to land a late deal to sign Tottenham Hotspur right-back Kyle Walker-Peters, but the move has a feel of desperation rather than what the Eagles actually need.
According to Football Insider, Palace are currently pipping Southampton to the 22-year-old’s services and are closing in on a season-long loan and Mauricio Pochettino has given the green light.
Roy Hodgson has been looking for a right-back since Aaron Wan-Bissaka left Selhurst Park for Manchester United earlier in the summer, but time is running out which gives the sense that this transfer is a hint of panic.
Read Crystal Palace’s verdict
Walker-Peters is undoubtedly a fine right-back in the making with bags of potential, but he’s yet to prove that he can start week-in-week-out for one of the top teams in the Premier League. So, how’s he going to fare at Palace?
Although he probably would be guaranteed game-time here, with Joel Ward and Martin Kelly the only players capable of playing on the right side of defence at the moment, it would be a questionable short-term fix when the budget is currently there to go out and get a long-term replacement.
With Kieran Trippier leaving the club for Atletico Madrid earlier this summer and Serge Aurier in talks about a Paris Saint-Germain return, it’d also be odd for Spurs to sanction the departure.
One thing is for certain, the clock is ticking for Palace to bring in a new man, but it isn’t looking like they’ll get the man they need.
