Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira has already shown plenty of faith in the younger players in his squad, with Conor Gallagher, Tyrick Mitchell and Marc Guehi all earning call-ups to the England senior squad for the current international break due to their fantastic form for the club.
The likes of Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze have both also been regularly utilised by the French manager, who clearly has ambitions for his Eagles squad, and will likely continue down the route of developing youth – particularly if clubs begin targeting his players for transfers.
Vieira also seems keen to rectify a mistake back in 2017 too when one of the club’s finest prospects was allowed to join Chelsea, as he targets the signing of now Brentford B attacker Nathan Young-Coombes.
What’s the news?
According to The Sun, Young-Coombes’ exceptional form for the West-London club’s development side has put not only Palace, but also Southampton, QPR and Bournemouth in the conversation to sign him.
However, Brentford aren’t believed to be wanting to sell one of their most prized assets, and are instead searching for a potential loan destination for him instead – but given the 19-year-old already knows Palace inside and out having been a youth team player there and Vieira’s preference to develop youth, a deal wouldn’t seem implausible at all.
The next Ivan Toney?
After scoring 27 times for Brentford B this season, it’s understandable why the 19-year-old has become one of the hottest properties in England, having spent last season with Rangers, learning from the likes of Alfredo Morelos and Jermain Defoe.
After signing for his current club, the developmental team manager Neil MacFarlane was full of praise and excitement for the teenager’s future, saying: “We know that he has been highly thought of at Rangers and he is the sort of number nine which aren’t easy to find.
“He’s somebody that will play on the shoulder of defenders, and he can also bring other players into the game.
“He possesses a real goal threat and a high level of finishing.”
Combine that with the fact he now plays for the Bees and it’s not beyond the realms of fantasy to compare him to a certain Ivan Toney.
The Brentford striker has been labelled as a £50m player of late while also being dubbed an “exceptional” talent by Barry Fry for the 46 goals he’s netted for the Bees.
Like Toney, Young-Coombes is clearly a fox in the box and it’s not just the fact they play for the same club where similarities can be drawn as their respective records at beating the goalkeeper are both fabulous.
Should he believe he is ready for first-team football now, he may choose to make the jump across London to Selhurst Park, to play under one of the most exciting managers in the country right now, where he would almost certainly experience Premier League football in the future.
In other news: £13m in the bank: Palace dodged a major transfer bullet on shocking £4.5m-rated flop