Dan Cook has been speaking on the HLTCO podcast about Nathan Ferguson after he was pictured back in training with the Crystal Palace first team.
Ferguson was signed by Crystal Palace from West Brom last summer once the defender ran down the remaining months of his contract, however, he is still yet to make his debut for the Eagles having suffered from Achilles and hamstring injuries.
Will Palace finish in the top half?
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Although he was a free-agent signing, it was not a simple one as West Brom took legal action against Palace to receive a large sum of money as he came through their academy, as explained by The Athletic. The ruling did not go the way of West Brom, with Palace having to pay just £900,000 for the full-back.
Following his unfortunate luck with injuries, Palace’s official Twitter account released training pictures that included Ferguson back on the grass in what will be a big step in his recovery.
Cook has been discussing this latest step in Ferguson’s injury recovery.
“There were also pictures put up by the official Twitter account of Nathan Ferguson back on the grass.
“I don’t think there were any photos of him with a ball at his feet, but the simple fact that he is back and running supposedly with the first team is surely a step in the right direction and a positive one for Crystal Palace in the long term.”
TIF Thoughts on Ferguson…
Given that Palace sold Aaron Wan-Bissaka the summer before Ferguson was signed from West Brom, the expectation may have been for the latter to replace the man who had joined Manchester United for £50 million, but injuries put a swift stop to that.
It hasn’t proved to be that big of an issue, though, as Palace have been able to call upon Joel Ward, who’s now into his 10th season with the Eagles.
Although, having someone much younger than Ward who could naturally take over from him potentially next season would be good planning by Palace, especially when you look at the other three defenders who start regularly for them and their respective ages, as they’re certainly planning for the future.
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