Nathan Ferguson is still playing Championship football for West Bromwich Albion after a Premier League switch to Crystal Palace collapsed.
Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson has admitted that he did indeed try to sign West Bromwich Albion youngster Nathan Ferguson in January, according to Football London.
One of the strangest sagas of last month’s transfer window ended with the future of a 19-year-old starlet more uncertain than ever.
After just half a season of first-team football at The Hawthorns, Ferguson was on the verge of swapping the Hawthorns for Selhurst Park with Crystal Palace agreeing an initial £4 million deal for the rampaging right-back.
By the time February arrived, however, the teenager was still stuck in the Midlands. A knee injury discovered during his medical saw the move fall apart and it remains to be seen whether Palace return to the table in the summer, by which time Ferguson will be a free agent.
“Yeah, I think at the moment the operation (on his knee) is the key. We don’t deny this was a player that really interested us,” said the former England and Liverpool boss.
“And we don’t deny that this is a player we would have liked to have signed until such time as this situation occurred, and it’s got to be resolved now by this operation. After the operation we’ll know so much more.
“So at this moment in time it’s very difficult for me to say this is what we want to do or this is not what we are going to do. We’ve got to wait until the operation’s over, get the information back, find out what it means and then hopefully kick on from there.”
According to the Birmingham Mail, Crystal Palace are likely to face competition from Tottenham Hotspur if they want to bring Ferguson to the capital during the off-season.
It is no secret that The Eagles failed to replace Aaron Wan-Bissaka when the academy graduate left for Manchester United last summer and a new right-back would certainly be a long time in coming.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
