Crystal Palace in talks to sign Joel Ordonez after hijacking Aston Villa move

Crystal Palace are pushing to sign Joel Ordonez after hijacking Aston Villa’s move for the Club Brugge centre-back.

According to The Standard, Palace are in talks over a deal, with the Ecuadorian believed to be interested in a Premier League switch. He has long been expected to leave Brugge this summer and could follow Axel Disasi as the next centre-back arrival at Selhurst Park.

Ordonez came through Independiente del Valle’s academy, the club that produced the majority of Ecuador’s 26-man World Cup squad.

He made three appearances for Ecuador at the World Cup, where they were knocked out by Mexico in the last-32. The defender joined Club Brugge in 2023 and has played 83 league matches, scoring four times.

He was a regular in Brugge’s Champions League campaigns over the past two seasons and scored against Atletico Madrid in February. His departure would be the club’s second high-profile Premier League sale this summer, following Christos Tzolis, now of Arsenal.

More movement is possible at Selhurst Park before Tuesday evening’s deadline. Ismaila Sarr has been linked with Liverpool and Galatasaray, while Jean-Philippe Mateta may also depart. Aston Villa had a bid for Mateta rejected this week, and Pierre Sage is adamant both he and Sarr will still be Crystal Palace players at the end of the summer.

Source: The Standard

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”