Crystal Palace have entered into talks with Bayern Munich over the signing of defender Chris Richards this summer, according to a report.
The 22-year-old has spent the last 18 months on loan with Bayern's fellow Bundesliga outfit Hoffenheim across two separate spells.
However, injury issues restricted the American to just 20 league appearances last season, of which just 13 were starts in various roles across the back line.
Despite the exit of Niklas Sule from the Allianz Arena this summer, Julian Nagelsmann has the likes of Lucas Hernandez, Dayot Upamecano, Benjamin Pavard and Tanguy Nianzou at his disposal in central defence for the 2022-23 campaign.
Bayern have also further strengthened their options at the back with the capture of Juventus' Matthijs de Ligt on Tuesday as well, pushing Richards further down the pecking order.
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Patrick Vieira's Palace side could be set to offer Richards first-team opportunities next season with an offer to take him to the Premier League, according to the Daily Mail.
The report suggests that the Eagles are favourites to sign the defender ahead of Hoffenheim, who have submitted a fresh offer to take him back to the PreZero Arena this summer.
After coming through the ranks at FC Dallas of the MLS, Richards initially joined Bayern on a 12-month loan deal in 2018, before joining on a permanent basis the following summer.
However, despite being contracted to the club for the past four years, he has recorded just five first-team appearances for the Bavarians during his stay so far.
Should Palace secure the defender's signature, he would become their fourth signing of the transfer window so far, following the arrivals of Sam Johnstone, Malcolm Ebiowei and Cheick Doucoure.
Meanwhile, Vieira has ruled out the possibility of Conor Gallagher returning to the club ahead of the 2022-23 campaign, after enjoying an excellent loan spell at Selhurst Park from Chelsea last season.
Matthew Tranter
