Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish has said that his club had their move for Reading’s Michael Hector hijacked at the final hour by Chelsea, reports the Daily Mail.
In one of the shock transfers of deadline day Hector signed for Chelsea for £4.5m, but Parish has claimed that he had already agreed a fee with Reading for the defender.
He told Holmedale Radio:
“Unfortunately the might of Chelsea came in and the player chose to go there, so at least we’re getting the right targets.
“We must be doing the right thing, so that was disappointment but you don’t win them all and we live to fight another day.
“I am sure Michael will do very well at Chelsea and we wish him all the best. We don’t hold grudges, Chelsea are a big club and I think he has supported them since a kid, so you can understand why he chose them.”
Hector has been loaned back to Reading for the season and was Chelsea’s second defensive signing of deadline day after they also brought in Papy Djilobodji from Nantes.
23-year-old Hector has played over 50 league games for the Royals, but the move from Chelsea certainly surprised some on twitter.
How did reading get just £4m for Hector…that’s a massive steal!!
— Sam Mackenzie (@sammac05) September 1, 2015
Does anyone know much about this Michael hector bloke from reading? Any good?
— F I N C H Y (@LukeFinchy_95) September 2, 2015
