Crystal Palace linked with move for England youth starlet

As one of the foremost development clubs for young talent in London, Crystal Palace have formed a reputation for being a place to take young stars to. In the past few years, the likes of Eberechi Eze, Nathan Ferguson, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka have begun or continued their careers at the club. Another name that could be added to that list in the near future, though, is Reyes Cleary.

The striker is linked with a move away form current club West Bromwich Albion in the January transfer window. Reports of interest from both bigger teams in England and teams in Germany has encouraged the Palace transfer team to get a move on with the signing. Despite only being 17 years of age, Cleary is gaining a lot of traction due to his outstanding performances at youth level.

West Brom have become a bit of a talent hub themselves, as Ferguson shows. There is therefore a lot of interest in any young player who shines for the Baggies. The fact that FC Bayern, Borussia Dortmund, and RB Leipzig have all taken a look at the player is an indication of his outstanding talent.

Indeed, some have even compared him to former Baggies striker Romelu Lukaku. Powerful for his age and composed in front of the goal, Cleary has quickly gained a reputation as one to keep a close eye on for football fans up and down the country.

The player himself has not been clear about what his plans are, but it is obvious with the number of teams interested that a bid could arrive in the near future. If Palace want to be eat the extended queue to get to the player, though, they might need to make a move right away.

Are Crystal Palace leading the race for Reyes Cleary?

While Palace fans are always keen to see young domestic talent around the first-team, Cleary might be a long shot. The sheer number of teams who are involved means that Palace would need to offer a pretty good deal to get the player. For one, they would need to provide a clear plan to get the player into regular action for the first-team.

Impressive performances have been scouted for some time now, with Palace scouts seen at recent West Brom youth games to keep a closer eye on Cleary. Given the player has not signed a professional deal with West Brom yet, there is hope that he could be landed for a cut price deal and signed up for less than his likely professional value would be.

However, Palace might have more of a chance purely because they can offer the player the chance to play regular football. Alongside Odsonne Edouard, he would offer another electric option who can run in behind and score goals. With the Palace transfer ideology built around obtaining young talent and building on their ability, it should be no surprise that buying and developing players like Cleary should be high-up on the list of things to do.