Crystal Palace are yet to take full advantage of the summer transfer market after winning the FA Cup last season.
So far, the south Londoners have only replaced those to have left Selhurst Park, with Borna Sosa arriving in a £2m move from Ajax after Ben Chilwell returned to Chelsea, whereas Walter Benitez has been signed to replace Matt Turner as the backup goalkeeper.
Crystal Palace have shown interest in Ousmane Diomande and Evann Guessand – who would add real quality to the squad for Oliver Glasner, a man who sounds quite frustrated at the lack of transfer activity.
Before either of them arrive, however, Crystal Palace are set to welcome Arnau Martinez as a replacement for Joel Ward.
Arnau Martinez to join Crystal Palace
Foot Mercato now state that Crystal Palace are very close to welcoming the 22-year-old from Girona.
The French news outlet add that Odsonne Edouard will join the Spanish side in a deal worth €6m (£5m) – while the arrival of the Spaniard in south London will cost Crystal Palace €10m (£9m).
Martinez will officially become a Crystal Palace player in the ‘coming hours’ – according to Foot Mercato.
Arnau Martínez:
– complete full-back
– perfect as a RCB in a 3-man defence
– fast & agile
– versatile & tactically intelligent
– good positioning & anticipation
– tenacious tackler
– excellent technique & ball control
– above-average passing & crossing skills
Girona's Jewel. pic.twitter.com/8SyXT2KZtF
— Football Talent Scout – Jacek Kulig (@FTalentScout) January 27, 2023
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The Girona No.4 made 39 appearances at right-back across all competitions last season, scoring three goals and providing three assists.
At one stage, the man born in Premia de Dalt was even called “very intelligent” by Michel at Girona during a chat with Marca, after impressively managing to keep Vinicius Junior at bay, despite having a yellow card to his name for most of the match.
Martinez is set to deputise for Daniel Munoz – who recently took the No.2 shirt – on the right of defence.
Jesurun Rak-Sakyi could follow Odsonne Edouard out of the Selhurst Park exit door
Edouard – who Crystal Palace signed from Celtic for £14m in September 2021 – spent last season on loan at Leicester, only managing to make six appearances without scoring or assisting a goal.
Glasner has clearly now opted to sell the Frenchman, and the same could happen to Jesurun Rak-Sakyi after a frustrating loan spell at Sheffield United.
The 22-year-old made 22 starts out of a possible 46 in the Championship, eventually fading out of the starting XI under Chris Wilder.
TBR Football understand Rangers are optimistic about signing Rak-Sakyi, after Russell Martin also tried to land the England U21 international at Southampton last summer.
Once the Crystal Palace academy graduate and Edouard are officially sold – adding some cash to the transfer budget – we could see some more movement in terms of incomings at Selhurst Park.