According to The Athletic's January Transfer Tracker, Crystal Palace are considering a late swoop for experienced centre-back Adil Rami.

What's the word, then?

Well, The Athletic state that the 34-year-old is hoping to secure a move to the Premier League before Friday's deadline.

Rami - who was pursued by Arsenal and Unai Emery last summer - is mainly being chased by Championship clubs with Derby County leading the race ahead of another unnamed side from the second tier, although the Eagles are believed to be considering a late swoop for the World Cup winner.

The 36-cap France international joined Fenerbahce in the summer, although he has made just five appearances for the Turkish side and, as aforesaid, is hoping to complete a switch to England's top-flight before the deadline.

Rami was sacked by Marseille in August 2019 after he failed to report for training with an injury, only to appear on TV when taking part in the game show Fort Boyard.

Would be ludicrous from Crystal Palace

If the south Londoners completed this move, questions would simply have to be asked.

For a start, the centre-back department is the most well-stocked area at Roy Hodgson's disposal, as the former England manager has Gary Cahill, James Tomkins, Mamadou Sakho, Martin Kelly and Scott Dann all to choose from - adding a sixth option for an area which only requires two starters would be crazy, in that respect.

Also, a second reason as to why a move for Rami would make no sense for Palace is the fact that, at 34 years of age, he would become the club's second-oldest player behind Cahill by eight days, seeing as the Frenchman was born on December 27th 1985 whereas the former Chelsea man was born on December 19th of the same year.

The significance of this, you ask? Well, The Athletic's Dominic Fifield recently revealed on the HLTCO podcast that there is an 'acceptance' at Crystal Palace that the average age of the squad needs lowering, as it is amongst the oldest in the Premier League - the Eagles only have four players under the age of 27.

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In that respect, signing a 34-year-old, and one who would arrive in a heavily-stocked position, would make absolutely no sense from the south Londoners.

In other news, Dominic Fifield has revealed who Crystal Palace's "priority" at full-back seems to be...