Crystal Palace are a notoriously sensible and logical club in the transfer market.

In recent times, the signings of Marc Guehi, Joachim Andersen, Michael Olise, Eberechi Eze, and Cheick Doucoure for modest fees have materialised into fantastic assets.

All have significantly contributed to the preservation of the club’s Premier League status, with the reliability of the team built upon the foundation of the sturdy defensive relationship between Guehi and Andersen.

However, the Eagles are still in the market for squad depth, but the latest target will not fill fans with much confidence…

What’s the latest Crystal Palace transfer news?

According to Football Insider, Arsenal’s Rob Holding is a target for the Eagles, as well as Wolverhampton Wanderers and Real Betis before the transfer window shuts on Friday.

The centre-back has fallen down the pecking order at the Emirates Stadium, and he has been told he can leave on a permanent transfer.

The Gunners are looking to balance their books and trim the squad, with Holding tipped to make the journey across the English capital to Selhurst Park.

Would Rob Holding be a good signing for Crystal Palace?

Holding has been at Arsenal since 2016 and has consistently failed to nail down regular game time. Arsene Wenger, Unai Emery, and Mikel Arteta have all utilized the Englishman sparingly as he only made more than 15 appearances in a single Premier League season once.

This term, Holding hasn’t made a domestic squad and looks destined for an exit as he is clearly surplus to requirements.

Arteta’s trust in the defender most likely deteriorated at the end of the last season. Following William Saliba’s injury, Holding was shifted into the starting line up as his replacement during an intense title race with the relentless Manchester City.

However, across six games in March and April 2023, in which the former Bolton youngster started, the Gunners failed to keep a clean sheet and ultimately crumbled.

talkSPORT pundit Gabriel Agbonlahor once brutally labelled Holding as a “Championship defender”, whilst the unforgiving enigma that is Roy Keane previously suggested he is “very slow” and was a weak link in the Gunners side.

Although this criticism was probably overly harsh, he failed to instil confidence in the fans or teammates.

From a Palace perspective, it would be extremely hard to justify Holding’s inclusion in a starting XI ahead of either Andersen or Guehi.

Moreover, it seems unlikely that the £40k-per-week dud would be willing to trade Premier League benches, which may point to the fact that Eagles boss Roy Hodgson is willing to offer him a more prominent role.

In the south-east Londoners’ last 79 Premier League games, Guehi featured in 76 of those and Andersen in 69 – as their reliability, solidity, and consistency have been the bedrock of the club’s defensive acumen.

The idea of Holding possibly disrupting that relationship is questionable and doesn’t seem like the correct direction to go in.

When assessing Holding’s role at Arsenal, his lack of minutes, and his weak reputation you are unable to definitively say he would improve the Palace team.

As an option for squad depth, Holding is an understandable choice, but that almost goes against the point of signing him, which is why the one-time England manager must steer clear of making a transfer blunder this late in the window.