Former Crystal Palace striker Marcus Bent reckons Patrick Vieira will be shopping in the Championship this summer.
The Eagles have already released several experienced faces, with new Palace boss tasked with a massive rebuild at Selhurst Park.
However, that rebuild is firmly underway with Christian Benteke already tied down to fresh terms, whilst the Frenchman has already made his first signing following the arrival of highly-rated Reading attacker Michael Olise.
In his first full season at Championship level, the 19-year-old scored seven times and added 12 assists as the Royals narrowly missed out on finishing in the top-six.
It’s not the first time that Palace have targeted the second-tier, with Eberechi Eze signed from QPR 12 months ago, whilst young left-back Nathan Ferguson joined following his release from West Brom.
Palace are going to need plenty more than just Olise if they want to avoid getting dragged into a dog fight, especially after letting go so many important players.
And Bent exclusively told The Transfer Tavern that the Championship could be Vieira’s best bet:
“If you’ve got the talent, you’ve got the talent. The Championship is probably where Crystal Palace are looking unless they get a loan player from a Premier League side, because I don’t think they’ve got the finances.
“Saying that, some of the Championship players are £15-£20m.”