Crystal Palace have agreed a deal in principle worth up to £26m with Villarreal for Spain winger Yeremy Pino.
The 22-year-old is believed to be open to a move to Selhurst Park and is expected to complete a medical in the coming days.
Pino has a £69m release clause, but with there being less than two years left to run on his contract, Villarreal have decided to accept Palace’s offer.
The Eagles have moved for Pino after England forward Eberechi Eze’s £60m move to Arsenal last week.
Eze, 27, was Palace’s talisman last season, scoring 14 goals and recording 11 assists in 43 games as the club won the FA Cup – the first major trophy in their history.
After Palace’s 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest at the weekend, manager Oliver Glasner said he was “very confident” the club would make new signings before deadline day on Monday following a quiet transfer window.
The club have made only two signings this summer – goalkeeper Walter Benitez’s arrival from PSV Eindhoven on a free transfer and defender Borna’s Sosa’s £3m move from Ajax.
Palace have also made a move for Manchester City’s 30-year-old Switzerland defender Manuel Akanji, who the club value at £15m.
Winger Pino came through Las Palmas’ youth set-up before joining Villareal in 2017.
He made his full debut in 2020 and scored four goals in 34 league games last season to help Villarreal finish fifth and qualify for the Champions League.
Pino has scored three goals in 15 internationals for Spain since making his debut in 2021.
Bilal El Khannouss and Yeremy Pino can play together for Crystal Palace – could be the new Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise
In terms of profiles, El Khannouss and Pino could complement each other well.
The Villarreal No.21 typically lines up on the right flank – making 24 appearances in that area last season – cutting inside similarly to how Michael Olise operated for Crystal Palace, albeit preferring to use his right foot.
Pino can also play on the left, so he would bring versatility to Selhurst Park.
Early goal for Spain! 👊🇪🇸
Leonardo Bonucci is robbed of the ball by Yeremy Pino who opens the scoring in the Semi-Final with a nice finish 🎯#NationsLeague pic.twitter.com/tw9SBp6TSn
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) June 15, 2023
El Khannouss is slightly different, making 27 appearances in a central attacking midfield role last term – typically starting on the left before roaming inside the pitch on his right foot, like Eze.
Therefore – if this double deal materialises – Oliver Glasner will surely be a lot happier than he has appeared to be in recent press conferences.
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