BY ALEX PEWTER
A trio of Crystal Palace U21 players lead the list of academy loan priorities as we head into the January window.
The Eagles are seeking senior appearances away from the club for central defender Sean Grehan and wide players Asher Agbinone and Franco Umeh.
Agbinone, 19. will be the name most familiar to Palace fans, having his Premier League debut at Nottingham Forest in October. He has been a regular on the Eagles’ bench for much of the season through the team’s injury crisis, twice appearing in the closing stages of matches.
His promotion to training with the first-team squad had been accelerated this summer, much like that of defender Caleb Kporha. Both players missed significant portions of the previous season through injury, missing out on promotion to Darren Powell’s U21 squad, but have been on the fringes of Glasner’s squad.
Left-footed Umeh, who arrived from Cork City at the end of the January transfer window in 2022, has been an unused substitute for Oliver Glasner’s team six times in the Premier League. The Austrian manager’s formation switch saw the pacey inside-right winger convert to a left-sided wing-back, an unfamiliar role to the one that gave him initial success after arriving in English football.
Picture : Keith Gillard
A hamstring injury suffered after returning from youth international duty for the Republic of Ireland has ruled him out from recent contention. Still, his athletic profile and U21 performances will likely garner EFL interest for the 19-year-old.
Grehan’s current predicament differs from the other two.
He had a curtailed loan at Carlisle United last season in League One, returning early to Crystal Palace. This was due to a lack of opportunity despite the struggling Cumbrians drifting towards relegation. He missed out on a subsequent summer move due to injury.
A ‘veteran’ presence in the backline of the PL2 team, the Irish U21 defender has ticked every box at the academy level. Grehan appears to have many attributes desired in modern football in his role – it’s just a matter of finding an environment to showcase that.
MAIN PICTURE: KEITH GILLARD
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