Premier League Interest In Reading FC Defender?

Reports from The Guardian's Ed Aarons suggest that Reading defender Michael Hector could be a target for Crystal Palace. Alan Pardew is reportedly looking to bolster his defensive options, and a move for Hector could re-unite him with former Royals goalkeeper Alex McCarthy who also moved to Selhurst Park earlier this summer.

From the surface Hector would seem a good fit for Palace who have a bit of a shortage in the heart of the defence, relying on former Royal Adrian Mariappa and 34-year-old Brede Hangeland as backup for regulars Scott Dann and Damien Delaney, who is also 34. Mariappa will know plenty about Hector having spent the summer with him for Jamaica in the Gold Cup and Copa America so it's natural to suspect that his feedback coupled with Palace scouts keeping tabs on the tournament would have put him on Pardew's radar.

#cpfc also looking at Reading central defender Michael Hector

— Ed Aarons (@ed_aarons) August 21, 2015

Fortunately for Reading they're in a strong bargaining position, having only tied 23-year-old Hector down to a new three-year contract earlier this summer. Likewise having made the defender vice-captain of the squad and given him his start in the game, you can't imagine Hector is going to be absolutely desperate to quit the Madejski.

At the present time we'll just have to wait and see how this one pans out. Hopefully it's just a case of putting the above factors together and churning out Hector's name but the fact that the form of Anton Ferdinand and Paul McShane has kept Hector on the bench and out of the eyes of scouts recently might not be a bad thing.

So how would you feel about this one Tilehurst Enders? Would you be happy to see Hector leave to generate some transfer funds or is this a player Reading should fight hard to hold on to? Let us know in the comments below.