Crystal Palace forced to switch transfer plans as loan deal for Liverpool man is off

BY RICHARD CAWLEY

Crystal Palace have been forced to scrap their loan deal for Dominic Solanke – with the Liverpool striker having an injury which is set to rule him out of action.

The Eagles had made the England U21 international their top forward target in this month’s transfer window.

And earlier in the week it had seemed a question of when – not if – Solanke was confirmed as a temporary addition. It would have been a major boost to the South London club’s frontline options with Christian Benteke still not recovered from a knee injury – Wilfried Zaha and Andros Townsend have both pushed into advanced roles this season due to a dearth of options.

Solanke has a groin strain and it now seems his time on the sidelines will be longer than initially expected.

Palace will have to switch their sights as they look to bring in extra firepower in this month’s window – with that cutting edge in attack about the only thing missing from Roy Hodgson’s side.