Crystal Palace are only willing to pay £2 million for Flynn Downes at present with Ipswich Town demanding closer to £6 million for their academy graduate, according to the East Anglian Daily Times.
After a dreadful end to the Premier League season in which Palace failed to win any of their last eight games, the real challenge may be still lying in wait for the Eagles.
According to The Mail, owner Steve Parish will hold crunch talks with veteran manager Roy Hodgson due to growing divisions over the club’s transfer policy.
Hodgson, perhaps inspired by the roaring success of 34-year-old Gary Cahill since the evergreen defender moved to Selhurst Park from Chelsea, wants extra experience in the ranks.
But the Palace bosses, instead, want to prioritise youth and potential as they look to reduce the average age of the division’s second-oldest squad.
With that in mind, 21-year-old Downes feels more like a committee signing rather than one of Hodgson’s top targets.
TWDT previously claimed that director of football Dougie Freedman is a big fan of the London-born playmaker, having scouted him during the spring.
But, as it stands, Crystal Palace are willing to part with just £2 million – though they will have to offer at least three times more to tempt Ipswich into a sale.
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