Crystal Palace complete £8million signing of Ajax defender Jairo Riedewald
Eagles switched their attention to the 20-year-old after they were priced out of a move for Liverpool's Mamadou Sakho
CRYSTAL PALACE have completed the signing of former Ajax defender Jairo Riedewald.
It is believed the fee for the defender is in region of £8million and he is set to meet up with his new team-mates in Hong Kong.
The 20-year-old is capable of playing at centre-back, left-back or defensive midfield.
Crystal Palace's new boss Frank de Boer has previously coached the defender and handed him his debut in 2013.
Everton were also interested in the defender but missed out on his signature.
Riedewald told the : "I am very pleased to be joining Crystal Palace and after speaking with the gaffer a couple of weeks ago I was delighted to have the opportunity to come over and play in the Premier League.
“The Premier League is a great competition to be involved in and it is a great opportunity to be working under Frank de Boer once again having been with him at Ajax.
“I look forward to meeting my new team mates and then getting the chance to be out on the training ground and getting ready for the new season.”
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Frank de Boer added: "Jairo Riedewald is a player I know well through my time at Ajax and I'm glad that he's now coming to join us at Crystal Palace.
"He will be an excellent addition to our squad, Jairo is a young player but already has a lot of experience. I know he is looking forward to playing in the Premier League."
Riedewald joins Ruben Loftus-Cheek after the Chelsea midfielder join on a season-long loan at Selhurst Park.
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The Eagles' initial defensive target was Mamadou Sackho after his successful loan spell last term but they were priced out of a move by Liverpool.
Riedewald’s former teammate in Holland Joel Veltman is also believed to be on Palace's radar.
Palace are also on the look out for another defender as they are linked with Porto star Bruno Martins Indi.