This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict’ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
Crystal Palace are interested in a summer move for Derby County winger Malcolm Ebiowei, as per a report from The Sun.
The 18-year-old, who has featured 14 times in the Championship this season, provided his first second-tier assist at the weekend, as Bristol City ran out as 3-1 winners at Pride Park.
Impressing at U18 level and in Premier League 2, the young winger has featured regularly since the start of February.
Derby's relegation to League one has been confirmed, and with the Rams possessing several exciting talents on the more youthful side of things, it is no surprise to see interest starting to surface.
Three of our writers here at FLW have shared their thoughts regarding Palace's interest in Ebiowei...
Simmey Hannifin-Donaldson
At this point, if Crystal Palace are interested in young EFL talent, they should go for it.
They've done fantastically well in developing young players from the EFL in recent years and in Patrick Viera, they have a manager who isn't afraid to give youth an opportunity.
We've seen the likes of Ebere Eze, Michael Olise and Marc Guehi make the move to Selhurst Park and there's no reason Malcolm Ebiowei can't be the next name on that list.
Sure, it would be a project from Palace's perspective, but given their record of developing talent and the fact it's a free transfer, it could be a good move for the South London club.
Declan Harte
Crystal Palace have made a habit in recent years of dipping into the EFL to find exciting young players to add to the squad.
Ebiowei fits that profile perfectly, with the Derby County starlet only at the beginning of his career.
The 18-year old has only made one Championship start, along with four appearances off the bench, but there is plenty of promise and potential from the talent he has shown.
While it is unlikely he would go into the Palace starting team, or even their bench, it would be a great step up for him to make at this point in his career.
Perhaps even a loan back to Derby could be on the cards to continue his development, with the guarantee of a place in a Premier League side helping motivate him to continue improving.
Josh Cole
This could turn out to a clever move by Palace if they are indeed looking to sign Ebiowei on a free transfer as the Derby academy graduate unquestionably possesses a great deal of potential.
The 18-year-old provided his first assist at senior level at the weekend in the Rams' defeat to Bristol City and has already featured on 14 occasions in the Championship.
Whereas Ebiowei is unlikely to force his way into Vieira's plans for the upcoming campaign, there is no reason he cannot eventually go on to make a difference for Palace at the highest level.
In order to give Ebiowei the best chance of making considerable strides in terms of his development, Palace may find it beneficial to send him out on loan to a team who are willing to play him week-in, week-out next season.