The Palace future of Darren Powell is still up in the air after a bizarre week of to-ing and fro-ing between the Eagles and possible buyers Reading.
The one thing that is definite is that Powell won’t be going anywhere before the end of the season. However, neither club seems to know the answer to the question of where he’ll be after that.
The very fact that the transfer was considered in the first place seems strange, given that Palace don’t exactly have an abundance of central defenders. But whatever the reasons, it looked like Steve Coppell had snapped up a bargain for the Royals, with a fee in the region of £225,000 agreed.
The move was delayed once it became clear that Powell’s thigh injury was more serious than first thought – and it was eventually put off until the season’s end, since the player was unfit to take a medical.
But now Palace seem to have changed their minds, with manager Iain Dowie apparently unwilling to sell.
"It was all speculation. I have never seen him play and as far as I am concerned Darren is not going anywhere," Dowie told the Croydon Guardian.
"He’s a very valuable member of the squad and I am looking forward to him getting fit and getting back in the team as soon as possible."
Has this news filtered through to the Reading camp? Well, who knows? Reading's director of football Nick Hammond seems to think the 27-year-old is still up for sale. "Darren won't be joining us at the moment because he is not in a position to take a medical and we would never sign any player before giving them a full medical examination," he told Reading’s official web site.
"But there's chance we could revisit the deal in the summer."
One thing’s for sure – a fit and firing Darren Powell can only be an asset to either side. Here’s hoping it’s a Palace shirt he’s wearing next season.