Crystal Palace close to agree loan deal with 6ft 3in defender | OneFootball

Crystal Palace endured a difficult start to the season but they have managed to turn it around and are now sitting in 13th position in the Premier League.

Oliver Glasner, the manager of Palace, is looking to make new additions to the squad in the winter transfer window and they have already identified one of their top transfer targets.

Palace are looking to add a defender to their squad in order to provide the manager more stability at the back for the second half of the season.

After coming out of the relegation zone, they are now determined to push for a place in the top half of the table in the second half of the season.

BBC journalist Alex Howell has reported that Crystal Palace are keen on signing centre-back Tiago Djalo on loan to bolster their defensive options.

Djalo, currently on loan at Porto from Juventus, has made 12 appearances for the club and scored twice. He also made his senior debut for Portugal last year against Croatia in the UEFA Nations League.

Crystal Palace are interested in a move for Tiago Djalo

Crystal Palace transfer target Tiago Djalo. (Photo by Diogo Cardoso/Getty Images)

However, the transfer is complicated, as Juventus must first cancel Djalo’s loan agreement with Porto before facilitating another loan move to Palace.

After Chelsea recalled Trevoh Chalobah from his loan move at Palace, Glasner’s team is left with the options of only Marc Guehi, Chris Richards, and Maxence Lacroix at the back.

It is a position that needs to be addressed in the market and Palace would have to make their move soon with the transfer window shutting down on Monday.

After the loss of Chadi Riad to a long term injury, Palace have turned their focus on signing a new defender at the club.

Initially, they wanted to bolster their struggling attack after Eddie Nketiah’s failure to make an impact this season but with Riad getting injured, signing a defender has become the club’s priority.

With Romain Esse joining from Millwall and becoming a major signing for Palace this month, they are ready to add more depth to their squad in order to back the manager.