It seemed as if Crystal Palace were all set to sign a Premier League player on a free transfer this summer – although Ipswich have now hijacked the deal.
Dougie Freedman has made a fine habit of capitalising on freebies in the transfer market in his role as Director of Football at Selhurst Park, notably snapping up both Jefferson Lerma and Sam Johnstone for free in recent years.
Now – however – Crystal Palace are set to miss out on the chance to secure another free transfer…
Ipswich set to beat Crystal Palace to Ben Johnson
A story from the Guardian now claims that Ipswich will sign Ben Johnson on a free transfer – after his contract with West Ham expired.
The 24-year-old has even undergone a medical with the Tractor Boys already.
It comes after the Daily Record claimed that the defender – who boasts 69 Premier League appearances – stated in May that Crystal Palace were “almost certainly” going to sign the Englishman this summer.
Freedman also made a move to sign Johnson for a cut-price fee in the January transfer window.
West Ham made late attempts to tie their academy graduate down to a new contract, although Ipswich have emerged from practically nowhere to thwart both the east Londoners and Crystal Palace.
Dougie Freedman also set to see another target move elsewhere
The summer transfer window started very well for Crystal Palace as a deal to sign Chadi Riad from Real Betis was swiftly agreed – while Daichi Kamada is also moving to Selhurst Park imminently.
However, the blow of losing Michael Olise to Bayern Munich has been quickly compounded by two negative updates, as Johnson closes in on a move to Portman Road, while Iliman Ndiaye is now joining Everton – a player Alan Nixon claimed was high on Freedman’s list of targets.
It is far from disastrous news for a Crystal Palace side who are certainly heading in the right direction under Oliver Glasner, although it will be interesting to see where things go from here in regards to recruitment at Selhurst Park.
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