After an impressive three-nil victory over Aston Villa, Crystal Palace look set for a busy deadline day, which could potentially define their season.
The biggest story at Selhurst Park will be whether star centre-back and captain Marc Guéhi leaves the club. In what may be considered a discouraging sign, the Eagles are leading the race to sign another Premier League centre-back.
Crystal Palace Leading Race For Igor
According to Fabrizio Romano, the South London-based side are leading the race to sign Brighton and Hove Albion centre-back Igor. Oliver Glasner’s side have jumped ahead of West Ham United in the queue to sign the Brazilian.
Ben Jacobs reports that Igor’s move is likely to be on loan.
Igor was associated with Red Bull Brasil, now known as Red Bull Bragantino, as a youngster before moving to the Austrian second tier with FC Liefering.
After a three-year stint in Austria, in which he also played for RB Salzburg, Wolfsberger AC and Austria Wien, the defender moved to Italy in 2019 with SPAL.
He impressed during his first six months in Europe, prompting Fiorentina to sign him.
The versatile defender has played a large portion of his senior football for La Viola, making 110 appearances for the Italian club. He was part of the side that lost the 2022/23 UEFA Conference League final against West Ham.
His move to England came in the summer of 2023 as Brighton paid roughly £14 million to secure his services. The Brazilian played 33 games in his first year on the South Coast.
However, he has fallen out of favour under Fabian Hürzeler, only making 16 appearances last season and playing just once in the opening weeks of this campaign.
Is This A Bad Sign In Relation To Guéhi?
Whilst it certainly is not encouraging that Palace have become interested in signing a centre-back so late in the window, it is by no means a guarantee of Guéhi’s departure.
Glasner plays a system that involves three centre-backs, and this is an area in which Palace have been light for some time now.
Unfortunately, a couple of major injuries to Chadi Riad have meant that the Eagles have essentially been operating with just three natural central defenders in their squad for an entire season.
Even accounting for the likes of Jefferson Lerma and Nathaniel Clyne being able to cover in the centre of defence, the Eagles definitely need more options in that area of the pitch, given that they are going into Europe this season.
Igor would provide a left-footed centre-back option, as well as extra squad depth, to Glasner, something which the German has not had at his disposal due to the injuries to Riad. This may allow Guéhi to play on the right-hand side of the back three.
Additionally, the Brazilian can add European experience to Palace’s squad, having played in both the Conference League and the Europa League before.
The signing would be a very solid addition for Palace, provided that they can hold on to Guéhi as well.
