Jim Daly, Chloe Petts, Adam Sells and Jesse Boyce discussed all of the latest Crystal Palace news on the most recent edition of the FYP Podcast and they spent some time talking about Nathaniel Clyne during the show.
Clyne was re-signed by the Eagles on a free transfer last month following his departure from Liverpool during the summer. As per Transfermarkt, the 29-year-old is only under contract with the South London club until the end of January.
It may be understandable why Palace only signed the right-back on a short-term deal, given that he has spent quite a bit of time on the sidelines due to injury in recent seasons and on the latest edition of the FYP Podcast, Petts shared that the possibility of Clyne being prone to injury is her “only concern” about the player following his move back to Selhurst Park, saying:
“It’s difficult to say in terms of [Clyne having] a long-term role, I’m worried that we’ve signed another defensive sick-note, is my only concern. You know, it’s the Palace way.”
Do you think Clyne has a long-term future at Palace?
YES
NO
TIF Thoughts on Petts’ concern about Clyne…
Clyne’s time at Liverpool was disrupted by a long-term back injury and a subsequent cruciate ligament rupture. As per Transfermarkt, these two injuries saw the £7.2m-rated full-back miss a combined total of 537 days of action for the Merseyside club.
So, given his poor luck with injuries of late, it may be understandable why Petts is concerned that this will once again prove to be an issue for Clyne at Palace and is seemingly unsure about whether or not he has got a long-term future at Selhurst Park.
However, it will be interesting to see if he can stay fit for the remainder of his current deal. If he can and he plays an important role for the club over the coming months – as he has in recent weeks, with Clyne starting Palace’s last two Premier League fixtures – then maybe he can earn a longer-term deal at Palace, especially as he is said to have a ‘strong relationship’ with Eagles boss Hodgson.