Jørgen Strand Larsen’s £50m move from Wolves to south London is in serious doubt after Crystal Palace stalled on a deal on Thursday afternoon.
Palace had verbally agreed in principle to sign the Norway striker for £45m, plus £5m in add-ons. Wolves were awaiting a formal written offer but it never arrived despite positive talks.
Palace have seemingly gone cold on Strand Larsen after pushing ahead with a loan deal to sign their longstanding target Evann Guessand from Aston Villa. Palace have agreed an option to buy Guessand, who joined Villa in a £30.5m deal from Nice last summer, when Palace were among the clubs beaten to his signature.
Strand Larsen would have represented Palace’s record buy, eclipsing the £35m they paid to take Brennan Johnson from Tottenham this month. The 25-year-old has also attracted serious interest from Leeds, who had a bid of about £40m rejected this month. Nottingham Forest have also monitored him.
In the summer, Strand Larsen was the subject of several bids from Newcastle, the last of which totalled £55m, but Wolves rejected those. The Premier League’s bottom club recognise Strand Larsen’s value will plummet in the event of relegation to the Championship.
Strand Larsen signed permanently for Wolves in a £23m deal last summer after scoring 14 goals during a loan spell from Celta Vigo. In September, he signed a contract extension to 2030 but has since struggled and it was apparent that a sale, at the right price, would benefit all parties.
Palace not following through on their move for Strand Larsen will likely have ramifications at Selhurst Park and beyond. Jean-Philippe Mateta wants to leave Palace, with Forest lodging a £35m bid. Palace will not allow Mateta to depart without signing a replacement. Forest host Palace in the league on Sunday.
James Ward-Prowse has joined Burnley on loan from their relegation rivals West Ham, with Scott Parker backing the former Southampton midfielder to break David Beckham’s Premier League record of 18 goals from direct free-kicks.
“Hopefully he can break that record with us because it would mean one has gone in!” the Burnley manager said. “His quality in and around the edge of the box, to get a ball up and down at speed, to beat keepers, it’s probably world-class really.”
Ward-Prowse has scored 17 free-kicks in the top flight – one short of Beckham’s record – but had not played a minute for the Hammers since Nuno Espírito Santo succeeded Graham Potter in September.
“As soon as I heard of Burnley’s interest and spoke to the manager [Scott Parker], I knew this loan spell was just what I needed,” said Ward-Prowse. “There’s a big battle between now and the end of the season, but I’m going to relish every moment.”
