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Football London
Football London
Sport
Joe Doyle

Former Liverpool defender Nathaniel Clyne seals Crystal Palace return

Nathaniel Clyne has agreed a deal to return to Crystal Palace, eight years after leaving Selhurst Park.

Clyne left Palace for Southampton back in 2012, before sealing a move to Liverpool in the summer of 2015.

The 29-year-old has been without a club after leaving Liverpool at the end of the season when his contract expired.

Clyne suffered a horrendous run of injury problems during his time at Anfield, but has been training with Palace in recent weeks in the hope of proving his fitness to the club - and others.

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Palace chairman Steve Parish says the club are delighted to have agreed a deal with Clyne, and is hoping the defender's experience can be valuable to the club.

"Nathaniel is a fantastic character to have around this squad and we are delighted to secure his services for the upcoming period," Parish told the club website.

"He is a first-rate professional, just as he was when I first met him more than a decade ago. His presence and experience will be invaluable."

Clyne has now sealed a short-term deal back at Selhurst Park, continuing his link-up with Roy Hodgson, who gave him his first cap for England.

Hodgson revealed after the defeat against Chelsea that he had been suitably impressed by Clyne, but insists there is still some way to go for the defender.

"When it comes to Nathaniel, we played that game we wanted to see him in [for the Palace Under-23s]," Hodgson told reporters.

"Now it's a question of meeting with his representatives, and Nathaniel himself and seeing if there's some sort of deal that will suit both sides.

"Importantly, I've seen enough from him in training, which is more important [than his Under-23s appearance].

"He's still a way off the level of fitness and level of playing that we think he's capable of, but that's not so surprising when you see the amount of time he's had away from the game due to the injury."

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