Brazilian goalkeeper Lucas Perri hopes to finalise his move to Crystal Palace in time for Sunday’s FA Cup tie against Tottenham.
The 21-year-old was due to arrive in London today and will undergo a medical at Palace tomorrow before sealing a loan switch from Sao Paulo.
The deal should be completed this week and Perri could go straight into the team against Spurs this weekend after Julian Speroni’s blunder against Liverpool on Saturday.
Speroni, 39, was standing in for the injured Vicente Guaita and Wayne Hennessey and gifted Liverpool a third goal when he fumbled a cross to allow Mohamed Salah to score.
Guaita is expected to be out for around a month and it is unclear when Hennessey will be fit to return. If Hennessey is still out , Perri could make his debut against Tottenham.
The Brazilian is understood to speak good English. He has never made a senior appearance for Sao Paulo but he is viewed as a good talent in Brazil.
Palace manager Roy Hodgson felt for Speroni after his mistake at Anfield cost Palace, who had led through Andros Townsend and levelled at 2-2 via James Tomkins.
"The third goal basically wins Liverpool the game," said Hodgson. "It was a very easy one not to concede. And that is really cruel on his behalf.
"He did not deserve that. Neither did the team. Unfortunately, it is an error from the goalkeeper which, in my opinion, really highlights the cruelty of this game.
"For a 39-year-old keeper who has not played for a year and a half, it was very cruel. But we all know that what you get and what you deserve are two very, very different things."
