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da betano casino： This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…
Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce appears to have poured cold water over reports that Crystal Palace were looking to sign Ciaran Clark before the transfer window shuts, and it should come as a major blow to the Eagles.
What’s the word, then?
Well, The Sun reported on Monday that the south London outfit were hopeful of bringing the 29-year-old to Selhurst Park in either a £5m permanent move or a season-long loan deal, to provide competition for Mamadou Sakho and James Tomkins at the heart of the defence.
The Sun said at the time that it would be up to Bruce to decide whether he could afford to lose the centre-back, but his comments following the pre-season clash with Hibernian on Tuesday night suggest he has made his mind up.
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He told BBC Newcastle: “The way we are with the injury to Lejeune and playing with three centre backs, if I let something happen to Ciaran Clark, we’d leave ourselves a bit short. I can’t really do that… I’ve had a quiet word with him and we move on.”
Blow for Palace
Following injuries suffered by Tomkins and Sakho in the second half of 2018/19 that ruled both out at the start of pre-season, it was obvious the lack of depth that the club had in those central defensive positions with the likes of Jairo Riedewald and Martin Kelly starting in their absence.
The Eagles could do with a reliable back-up player who could provide competition for a starting spot, and the 6 foot 1 Republic of Ireland international would have been the ideal candidate.
The former Aston Villa man has 165 Premier League appearances to his name and plenty of experience in that respect, and whether he was bought for £5m or arrived on loan he would have been seen as something of a shrewd addition in the modern era of extortianate transfer demands and fees.
Circumstances could change of course, but as things stand it doesn’t appear as though Clark will be in a red and blue shirt anytime soon – Hodgson may have to turn his attentions elsewhere in a bid to bring a new centre-back to the club.
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