If this is serious and Palace, are serious about injecting youth into all parts of the side , it’s a big yes for me . At his age showing the all round ability he already does. Then if available at the kind of money this suggests, it’s a get in there for me.

I hope so. I think this guy would be a great buy for Palace. Actually most of the young centre backs we have been linked with have been very promising so far.

If we could keep Cahill then I’d say Nelsson, Cahill, Tomkins and Kouyate would be adequate cover and in a major emergency we have Kelly.

Will we also need left back cover? If so defence would be sorted.

Only trouble with this is that those 3 back ups are all what I’d call emergency back ups. Just because we have 3 of them doesn’t mean we have adequate cover. For me I’d prefer the club to sign someone on a free at the very least that can do a proper job. If Mitchell got injured long term we’d have a problem.

Fair point

Two thoughts. We don't need to do all our business in one window and there's something to be said for staging the redevelopment of the squad. By the winter we should be clearer about Ferguson who is - from memory - two footed and cable of playing across the backline. Back up may be thin but is there and seems fairly low priority - could include Ward after all too.

Also if we're serious about promoting from within at some stage we need to take the plunge and allow the U23 to have a clear path to the first team. Only seen bits of him but isn't Hannan the closest to being ready?

Also, let’s not forget the fact that Mitchell’s been far from convincing. He’s certainly far from the finished product. Not sure there’s a premier league left back there.

Personally I think he needs another season of development, playing, say, 10-15 games. Instead of being thrown in the deep end and relied upon for 38 odd games.

It may be a big shout given he hasn't made his debut, but I actually think Hannam might oust Mitchell. The lad exudes confidence, is aggressive in the tackle and gets forward with pace. I hope we get to see the two of them fighting for the shirt next season. Personally I'd say if our budget is limited then there are more important areas of the pitch to focus on than the full-back positions.