Town target Joel Ward will sign a four-year deal with Crystal Palace on Monday, according to reports. The 22-year-old Portsmouth defender or midfielder was understood to be weighing up a move to the Eagles or one of other interested parties but now appears to finally have made his choice.
Ward is believed to be due at Selhurst Park on Monday to undergo a medical and to put pen to paper on a deal for an undisclosed fee understood to be in the region of £450,000.
On Wednesday, TWTD reported that Palace were strong contenders for Ward’s signature, however, with the wages they were offering believed to be significantly below the contracts available elsewhere, it had been thought Ward would instead join one of the other chasing clubs. Palace’s relative proximity to his family in Portsmouth is likely to have played a major part in his decision.
Leeds, previously understood to be the frontrunners, dropped out of the race having failed to raise the cash to finance the deal, while Burnley, Blackpool and Sheffield Wednesday were the other interested parties.
Ward opting not to join the Blues will be a blow to manager Paul Jewell, who has been targeting the one-time Bournemouth loanee since January when a bid was accepted but personal terms turned down.
In March, Ward was at Portman Road to talk about a loan move before the deadline but Pompey’s administrator pulled the plug on the switch with the crisis club then still having a chance of salvaging their Championship status.