Patrick Vieira has been rebuilding Crystal Palace by adding a number of young players into the squad since his arrival last summer and will surely be looking to continue his progression by recruiting further this summer.
However, the Frenchman could be set for his first howler with the latest transfer news at the club.
What’s the word?
According to reports, via the Daily Mail, Crystal Palace have joined Southampton in registering their interest in Tottenham Hotspur player, Harry Winks ahead of the summer transfer window.
After struggling to prove his worth at Spurs, the 26-year-old is now reportedly set for a move away at the end of the season, and Palace could be an option for him.
The report suggests that Vieira wants to add strength and depth to his current side for the 2022/23 season, with Winks now a target for the club.
Vieira set for howler
It’s safe to say that the Eagles boss has made all the right moves when it comes to transfers so far in his short tenure at Palace, signing up the likes of Jean-Philippe Mateta, Marc Guehi and Michael Olise in permanent deals, all of whom have become important first team players since they joined.
Signing Winks from Tottenham could easily become Vieira’s first howler in his rebuild, with the player failing to make a credible impact on Tottenham and often scathed for his performances at the London club.
Spurs insider John Wenham slammed the 26-year-old after Tottenham crashed out of the Europa Conference League earlier this season.
“Winks was so bad he was omitted from the West Ham squad completely when we can have nine substitutes.
“Winks was poor on the night and he’s been poor all season, so disappointing.
“He’s well down the pecking order. The fact he felt the need to go to the press is terrible.”
According to SofaScore, the £91k-per-week midfielder has failed to impress at Spurs with his performance statistics highlighting his mediocrity in his 14 Premier League appearances. He has made two errors leading to shots from the opposition, is only successful in 50% of his dribble attempts and aerial duels and is dribbled past 0.9 times on average per game.
As a result, there is definitely time to look into better options for Crystal Palace going forward and Winks should not be made a priority signing for Vieira given his lack of impact on the Spurs team.
If the club wants to progress into consistent top half finishes in the Premier League they should be looking for more effective players who could become available in the summer.
In other news: Parish must finally axe “valuable” £80k-p/w CPFC dud, he doesn’t fit Vieira’s vision