Crystal Palace have a tough run until the end of the season and manager Roy Hodgson will be aware that his side need to be at their best to avoid the drop this season. The Eagles have failed to find any consistency this season but have a squad capable of competing with the best in the league at the moment.
So Hodgson will not only look to make additions to his side in the summer but will also look to retain star players beyond the transfer window and one such player, who is ready to sign a new Crystal Palace deal is shot-stopper, Wayne Hennessey.
Hennessey hoping for a new deal
Having cemented his place in the first team at Selhurst Park in the absence of Julian Speroni to injury, Hennessey has not been at his best this season but has been effective at times, making some crucial saves to earn his side some points.
He is currently in the final few months of his current contract and may not be interested in staying back if Palace get relegated, but he has recently spoken to the media and revealed that he is happy with life in the capital city and that he is ready to sit with the club officials over a new deal at the end of the season. But does he deserve one?
Hennessey and his
A product of the academy at Molineux, the 31-year-old Welsh international joined Crystal Palace in 2014 but has not been the undisputed no.1 in any of those seasons. He has let in 36 goals in 21 games with just four clean sheets to his name and has not done anything out of the ordinary to save his side from relegation.
But he has till date made 154 top-flight appearances in England and is the first choice for his national side, and has a few more years up to his sleeve before he can call it quits. And there is no reason why Palace should not give him another couple of years at the club.
He is agile and smart with his positioning, is not prone to errors and though is not up there with the best, is more than a decent option on goal for the Eagles. It will not be easy for them to lure an upgrade on Hennessey this summer and it makes sense that they offer him an extension, that is if they are able to retain their top-flight status.
Is is frst team material?
But this is the question Palace will be asking themselves. Speroni has done enough to warrant a place in the squad but is not good enough to be the first choice for a side hoping to finish in the top half of the table.
So both Speroni and Hennessey are decent backup options and Palace need to find a player who can walk into the first team next season. Unless they do, they have little choice but to offer the Welsh international a new deal at the club.
He can be a match winner on his day but is Hennessey the right man for Palace’s future?
