Crystal Palace are on the verge of making their first summer signing, indicating the potential for a fantastic summer.

The sun is beaming in south London, but it’s not quite summer yet. Real Betis defender Chadi Riad is on his way to Selhurst and will have a physical this week, as exclusively reported by LondonWorld last week.

The Eagles have agreed to a shock £14million deal for the 20-year-old who will provide fierce competition for both starters Marc Guehi and the ever-improving Joachim Andersen.

He has two caps for his native Morocco and joined Betis from Barcelona last summer. He was one of Barcelona’s most promising young players in their academy.

Last week, LondonWorld claimed that the 20-year-old had rejected down Tottenham’s approaches to transfer to Selhurst, and his medical will complete a remarkable move after Palace, the player, and Betis reached an agreement.

Oliver Glasner wants to develop a machine.

Not many clubs in Europe concluded the season in the type of Crystal Palace did, winning all their last five games, including one at Anfield against Liverpool and beating Newcastle and Champions League-chasing Aston Villa at Selhurst.

They equaled their best-ever league season result of 10th place and doubled another Premier League record points total.

If there had been more games left in the season, they would very certainly have been pursuing a top-eight finish. Other teams targeting their best players will pose a significant danger to their form, with Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze all linked to Manchester United this summer.

 

Marc Guehi, who has been named to England’s large Euro squad, is another player attracting interest from major league and European clubs, but the question is whether they will move to a club where they are not guaranteed playing time or stay to build what appears to be a brilliant project in south London.