Monday 16 January 2017 16:12, UK
Cystal Palace have agreed a move for Carl Jenkinson but the deal is “hanging in the balance” due to negotiations with the Arsenal full-back’s agent.
Sam Allardyce signed Jeffrey Schlupp from Leicester for £12m last week and the Place boss is keen to strengthen his side further.
However, his bid to secure Jenkinson appears to have stalled due to talks with the 24-year-old's representative.
"I think that's [down to] negotiations between the chairman and the player's agent," said Allardyce.
"While we appear to have an agreement with Arsenal, that agreement with the player hasn't reached a conclusion, so that's hanging in the balance, as we say.
"We're still searching for players. We've exhausted this country, we're more looking at the European element now, because of the vast cost of the players in this country. They're a really big price.
"Someone said to me 'You spent a lot of money on Schlupp'. It's not really: it's very little compared to what everybody else is spending and valuing their players at.
"He's actually quite cheap compared to what we've been quoted for other players. It's expensive on where we've been before but not expensive in the market.
"He brings a lot of energy, experience for such a young man. He experienced a Premier League-winning run last year. Can play in three positions - wide left, wing-back or left-back - that could be important in a small squad.
"He was desperate to come, desperate to leave Leicester even though they're champions."
Former Manchester United left-back Patrice Evra has been linked with Palace and Allardyce did not deny an interest in the Juventus player when asked on Monday.
"From my point of view, there would be many contacts made by the chairman, myself, to agents on whether these players are available, whether they want to come or whether they don't.
"And then of course it's very good if that player wants to leave, for that to get released to all the papers, to all the radio stations, in case a better club pops up and they've got more options to choose from."
Allardyce continues to wait for his first victory since his December appointment, and on Tuesday Palace host his former club Bolton in an FA Cup third-round replay.
A weakened team could only draw at their League One opposition earlier this month, but with injuries to Steven Mandanda, James McArthur, Scott Dann, Connor Wickham, Pape Souare and Jordon Mutch, and Wilfried Zaha and Bakary Sako on international duty, he will again select a weakened XI.
"The team that starts will have only one player that hasn't played regularly in the first team but has been out on loan recently," he said. "The rest have plenty of Premier League experience; hopefully they'll go one better than they did at Bolton.
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