da bet sport： Crystal Palace are interested in signing Reading defender Omar Richards, if recent reports are to be believed…
What’s the word?
da betsul： Earlier this week, we told you about Roy Hodgson’s interest in Royals skipper Liam Moore. Now, it turns out the Eagles have turned their attention to his teammate as well.
According to The Reading Chronicle, Palace face stiff competition from Premier League rivals West Ham for his signature.
It’s claimed that Hodgson’s side have a long-standing interest in the former England U21 international, as they have been keeping close tabs on the situation for some time.
Sign him up!
Let’s face it, Palace have the oldest squad in the Premier League, which has become a bit of a problem in recent times. Don’t get me wrong, having an experienced defence isn’t always a bad thing, as Brazilian centre-back Thiago Silva has impressed for Chelsea, but there will come a point where they will have to start planning for the future.
To compound the problem even further, several Palace players are out of contract in the summer, including defenders such as Scott Dann, Gary Cahill, Martin Kelly and Mamadou Sakho, as well as academy graduate Tyrick Mitchell, who has made six appearances in the Premier League so far.
Palace fans will have to wait and see if Mitchell will decide to try his luck elsewhere instead, as Hodgson has backed the left-back to follow in the footsteps of Aaron Wan-Bissaka. Meanwhile, HLTCO regular Dan Cook believes “the vultures will begin to circle” as the uncertainty surrounding his future at Selhurst Park continues to build.
In fact, we’d even go so far as to say that the 22-year-old would be the perfect replacement for Mitchell.
Once hailed as an “outstanding” player by former Reading boss Mark Bowen, the £1.35m-rated ace has played seven games in the Championship this season, whilst he has made 2.9 tackles, 1.6 interceptions and 2.3 clearances per game, via WhoScored. By comparison, Mitchell has only managed fewer than one interception in the Premier League so far, as per WhoScored.
Whether Richards is a one season wonder or not, it’s surely worth the risk anyway, especially when you take into account the fact that he could be available for a cut-price deal as his contract is set to expire next year. Get it done Eagles, whilst you still can.
AND in other news, Steve Parish must sanction audacious swoop for Crystal Palace target Liam Moore in January…