The latest transfer news as Crystal Palace begin surprise discussions to sign a Wolves player.

Crystal Palace have reportedly entered talks with Wolverhampton Wanderers over the possibility of signing an out-of-sorts forward this summer.

The Eagles are eager to bolster their attacking depth and have shortlisted versatile targets. Oliver Glasner has been left short of centre-forward options by Eddie Nketiah’s injury-enforced absence, with Jean-Philippe Mateta the only natural number nine currently available.

With Palace about to head into a debut UEFA Conference League campaign, the need for a deep squad is greater than ever. The Eagles will fancy themselves as one of the favourites to go on and win the competition, possibly adding as many as 17 matches to an already hectic schedule.

Crystal Palace enter talks for £14m Wolves star

In an effort to add depth to their front line, Palace have entered preliminary talks to sign Hwang Hee-chan from Wolves. As first revealed by The Sun, Palace have been ‘keeping tabs’ on Hwang and are considering a season-long loan deal for the 71-time South Korea international.

The Athletic has since confirmed this, reporting that Palace are targeting Hwang for depth. There were murmurs that Hwang was a potential replacement for the Tottenham Hotspur-bound Eberechi Eze, but that has been quashed. The report states no deal is in place just yet, but Palace ‘are speaking to their Premier League counterparts and aim to strike a compromise’.

It awaits to be seen how willing Wolves would be to let Hwang leave on loan rather than a permanent deal. Signed from RB Leipzig in 2022 for around £14 million after an initial loan spell, Hwang has scored 24 goals and provided eight assists in 120 appearances across all competitions to date.

Should Wolves let Hwang go?

It’s a tricky call whether to allow Hwang to leave as Wolves too are lacking attacking depth as it stands. It’s a great shame the 29-year-old was in such poor form last campaign as otherwise it would have been an easy decision to keep hold of him, especially as his contract doesn’t expire until June 2028.

Hwang was superb in 2023/24. One of Wolves’ best players, in fact. His 12 goals and three assists in 29 Premier League outings certainly didn’t go unnoticed, but those levels were not repeated last season. Even when Wolves were completely revitalised and in strong attacking form under Pereira, Hwang looked a shadow of his former self and was unable to make any real impression.

Birmingham City were linked with a potential move for Hwang at one stage, but it’s believed the player didn’t fancy the drop down to the Championship. The financial side of the deal would have also been tricky despite Blues’ mega spending earlier in the window.

If Hwang were to join Palace, his game time would probably be similar to what it is at Wolves. Ismaila Sarr is by far and away the first-choice right winger, Eze on the left is likely to be replaced by Leicester City’s Bilal El Khannouss, and there’s no replacing Mateta at striker.

One route to minutes could be the Conference League, though, so in fairness Hwang could play a little extra games than he would for the Old Gold. It’s a close call, though, and it could be a tricky decision if it comes down to the player.