Crystal Palace close to deal for Club Brugge defender Joel Ordonez | OneFootball

Crystal Palace are close to agreeing a deal to sign Joel Ordonez from Club Brugge, a loan with a conditional obligation to buy for about €30 million (£25m). The move would hijack Aston Villa’s pursuit, with Palace having formalised their interest.

On Tuesday, The Athletic reported that Villa were progressing on a similar loan with an obligation, but Palace are now attempting to beat the West Midlands club to the Ecuador international.

Palace need another centre-back after selling Maxence Lacroix to Chelsea for £52m this summer and then losing Chadi Riad, 23, to a serious-looking injury in their 2-0 opening-weekend defeat by Everton.

They confirmed the loan signing of Axel Disasi from Chelsea on Wednesday, yet Riad’s setback has underlined the need for further reinforcement.

Ordonez was a winter-window target, when Palace made an offer that could have reached €40 million (£34.2m), but Brugge refused to sanction a sale, with the defender under contract until 2028.

The Ecuadorian has missed Brugge’s first three matches with an injury.

At 22, he would represent a longer-term replacement for Lacroix and former captain Marc Guehi, fitting Palace’s buy-develop-sell model. The plan would be for him to stay for several seasons and become a central part of the defence as he matures.

Returning for him after the winter-window rebuff shows how highly Palace rate him, and fending off Premier League competition would be a statement of intent.

Source: NY Times

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