Derrick Abu could swap Chelsea for London rivals Crystal Palace with the teenage defender now on trial at Roy Hodgson’s resurgent Premier League outfit.
Palace have taken a special interest in constructing a squad full of hungry young talents of late; Michael Olise, Ebere Eze, Nathan Ferguson, Odsonne Edouard, Cheick Doucoure and co all arriving at Selhurst Park in recent transfer windows.
19-year-old Abu, then, could fit in rather nicely.
The German-born youngster, who has represented England at youth level, has spent almost a decade at Chelsea but will leave this summer when his contract expires. There are currently no talks over an extension.
And All Nigeria Soccer report that Crystal Palace are now weighing up whether or not to sign Abu as a free agent. The attack-minded right-back has done his chances no harm with an impressive start to life on trial in South London, catching the eye against Valencia during the Premier League International Cup.
Derrick Abu could swap Chelsea for Crystal Palace
Abu, who also has a passion for music and released his first track in late-2022, could be dancing to the beat of a different drum next term. Crystal Palace looking to replace 76-year-old Hodgson with an exciting, up-and-coming manager capable of instilling the sort of attracting, attacking football many Eagles supporters crave.
Lille boss Paulo Fonseca is a leading candidate. As is Arne Slot, the 44-year-old Dutchman who looks set to guide Feyenoord to only their second Eredivisie title since the Millennium Bug was keeping people up at night.
According to De Telegraaf, Crystal Palace are now in talks with Slot’s agent.
“What Guardiola does at Manchester City, Arne Slot does at Feyenoord but on a different level,” Eredivisie legend Wim Kieft tells De Telegraaf. “(Slot’s) vision and his philosophy is the same. Slot has to work with players of lower quality.”
Feyenoord are eight points clear at the top of the table with just four games to go. In all competitions, the Rotterdam giants have scored 105 goals in 2022/23.
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