Crystal Palace open pre-contract talks with Juventus defender Radu

Crystal Palace have opened pre-contract talks with Juventus defender Radu Dragusin.

The London Evening Standard says the Eagles face a decisive transfer window at the end of this season as chairman Steve Parish and sporting director Dougie Freedman push to bring the average age of their squad down.

Every single one of Roy Hodgson’s central defenders are above the age of 30 and all bar James Tomkins and Cheikhou Kouyate are out of contract at the end of the season. Talks have been held with Scott Dann over an extension while Gary Cahill is also expected to be handed a new deal.

Dragusin is out of contract in Turin at the end of the season, meaning Palace can begin negotiations over a pre-contract, though it is thought they face competition.

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The 19-year-old made his Juventus debut in the Champions League in December and was introduced as a late substitute for his first game in Serie A later that month. Since then he has made just two appearances in the Coppa Italia and was an unused substitute for the two legs of the semi-final against Antonio Conte’s Inter Milan.

The Italian giants are considering extending the Romanian centre-half’s deal, though Dragusin is keen to play more frequently with the likes of Matthijs De Ligt, Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci above him in the pecking order in Turin. Newcastle have also been linked with a move.