St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson admits he hopes to retain wonderkid Dylan Reid with Premier League outfit Crystal Palace looking to snatch the one-time Celtic target, speaking to The National.
Palace’s transfer policy in recent seasons has focused largely on bringing some of the most talented young players in Britain to Selhurst Park and, after snapping up Ebere Eze, Michael Olise, Malcolm Ebiowei and co, it should come as little surprise to see Reid register on their radar too.
The 17-year-old Scotland youth international has been turning heads north of the border for a while now. Former Buddies boss Jim Goodwin handed Reid his first-team bow at just 16 – describing his debut performance ‘excellent’ – while both Celtic and Rangers made bids during the summer of 2022.
Now, The Sun say that Crystal Palace are ‘in talks’. Reid, who also has admirers at both Bayern Munich and Benfica, will reportedly cost a six-figure sum. The Sun add that plans are in place for the teenager to undergo a medical at Selhurst Park after he was left out of St Mirren’s 4-0 midweek defeat at Parkhead.
Not that Robinson is giving up hope of retaining Reid’s services just yet.
Dylan Reid could leave St Mirren for Crystal Palace
“He is still a kid,” says the ex-Motherwell coach. “Dylan is a St Mirren player as it stands right now and, hopefully, that will remain (the case).”
Robinson does, however, highlight the spending power enjoyed by clubs on the other side of Hadrian’s Wall. Three years ago, Crystal Palace paid a ‘substantial’ sum to land the much-coveted Dundee United starlet Scott Banks.
“You look at the English Premier League teams. They are probably spending more money on 16 and 17-year-olds than they are on boys at 22 and 23 that are established,” Robinson adds.
“They are paying a lot of money for potential.
“It is credit to Allan McManus (academy director) and our staff that we are getting interest in our players. Generating interest from clubs with resources way beyond ours.”
Reid eventually rebuffed Celtic’s advances around seven months ago, believing that his development would be better served staying in Paisley. Robinson will undoubtedly be hoping he can convince Reid to make a similar decision before February’s deadline.
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