Palace make move to sign class defender with £83m release clause



Crystal Palace have been struggling so far this season sat as they are down in 18th place in the Premier League, and with that in mind the club are looking to shore up their defence by landing Tomas Araujo.

The Benfica man has an £83m release clause (O Jogo) and at 22 years of age, he clearly has a number of years left ahead of him before even reaching his peak as a player.

Palace want Tomas Araujo

The Eagles are expected to have competition from both Chelsea and Newcastle, and with the greatest of respect to the South Londoners, they have less to offer Araujo at this stage than either of their Premier League opponents.

Perhaps any potential switch will come down not only to what’s being offered by potential buying clubs, but also who is willing to meet the player’s own salary demands.

Crystal Palace have made a transfer decision on Tomas Araujo. Photo by Gualter Fatia/Getty Images

Palace owner, Steve Parish, has always appeared to be studious in all of his business dealings, and whilst the player’s release clause appears steep, if he feels that Palace will get value for money over the course of Araujo’s contract, it’s a deal that they could potentially do.

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The club clearly have problems in scoring goals too, given that they’ve only managed eight so far in this Premier League campaign.

Only bottom club Southampton have scored less (7), and any Araujo transfer may come down to what both Parish and his manager, Oliver Glasner, believe is more urgent.


 

With the January transfer window just over six weeks away, clubs will almost certainly be positioning themselves to be right at the front of the queue for new players.

If they can land Araujo in the new year, it would certainly signify Palace’s intent for the second half of the season, and that can only bode well for the Eagles.