Wednesday 7 September 2016 16:26, UK
Alan Pardew has revealed he has met with former Arsenal midfielder Mathieu Flamini about a possible move to Crystal Palace, but says they could lose out to other clubs as they did with Jack Wilshere.
Wilshere met with both Pardew and Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe before eventually deciding upon a loan deal with the Cherries on Transfer Deadline Day, leaving Pardew still yet to fill the void left by the exit of Mile Jedinak who joined Aston Villa.
Pardew has now turned his attention to ex-Arsenal player Flamini, who has been a free agent since leaving the Emirates in the summer, and believes the Frenchman's age and experience can benefit the Palace squad in the same way Teddy Sheringham did when Pardew signed the striker for West Ham.
"Yes, there is scope to bring in one more into the squad - I did that on purpose as I thought there might be a player we can take who is not under contract, who might just fit what we're doing," Pardew told local reporters.
"Mathieu is a player I am looking at, yes. He would give us a bit more experience to winning games.
"I like the fact whenever he played, he played in the big, big games at Arsenal when they needed someone to kind of lead the team over the line and get big results.
"Mathieu's name was always on that list. I have always admired what he's done, so I am looking at him.
"His age, 32, in my mind I signed Teddy Sheringham when he was 38, so the age isn't a problem for me. I think his experience is something I am looking at, yes."
Palace, who brought in the likes of Christain Benteke, Loic Remy and Andros Townsend in the transfer window, are yet to win in the Premier League this season and Pardew believes there is still room in his squad for more additions.
The former Newcastle boss confirmed he has had meetings with Flamini, but after Wilshere elected to join Bournemouth over Palace, Pardew admits the club faces competition to secure his signature.
"We've had a couple of meetings with Mathieu to talk about what he would do here and how he would feel about competing with (Yohan) Cabaye, (James) McArthur, (Jason) Puncheon, (Jordon) Mutch, Chung (Yong Lee) and (Joe) Ledley," Pardew added.
"I think another one (in midfield) is where I'm going to go with it, but whether it's him or not, I don't know.
"We do face strong competition for him, but mainly from clubs who have got a much higher profile than us.
"It could well be a situation like Jack Wilshere, where we are in there but don't get it over the line.
"There are others we are considering. There are one or two others floating about who are always of interest."
