By OkayGoal
Inter Milan are already working on a deal for Crystal Palace defender Chris Richards, and they want it done before anyone else gets a foot in the door.
The Serie A champions are hunting a natural centre-back for Cristian Chivu, and the Palace man ticks almost every box on their list. The timing helps them too: his contract runs out in 2027, which means January could change everything.
For Crystal Palace, it is another reminder that a contract left to drift becomes a problem very quickly.
What are Inter looking for?
According to L’Interista, Inter have a very clear brief. They want a centre-back who is proven and ready to contribute straight away, not a long-term project and not someone past his best.
The money has to work as well. Inter want a reasonable transfer fee and a salary that sits inside their current wage structure, and Richards fits that bracket.
Chivu is said to rate him highly. The Inter boss sees Richards as a modern defender: tall, strong in man-marking and good at reading play to intercept. That is why the club’s management are already on the case.
Why Chris Richards’ 2027 contract matters
This is the part that should worry Palace. With his deal expiring in 2027, Richards will be free to negotiate a pre-contract agreement from 1 January.
That gives Inter two routes. They could wait and sign him on a free transfer, or they could offer a low-cost deal in January to bring him in six months early.
Either way, the leverage sits with the buyer. Palace have already been looking at centre-backs, with Trabzonspor’s Chibuike Nwaiwu on their radar for January, and a Richards exit would make that search far more urgent.
Is a January move on the cards?
Italian interest is nothing new. Serie A clubs were sniffing around Richards in the summer, and his agent Alan Redmond confirmed it in October, though nothing came of it at the time.
Redmond said: “Whoever wanted to change teams, did. We’ve had some inquiries from Serie A clubs about Chris Richards, the Crystal Palace defender.”
He also left the door open for this winter: “In his case, perhaps something could happen in January; we’ll see. As for the rest, it’s more likely that certain deals will be discussed again in the summer of 2027.”
That January “something” now looks like Inter.
Palace can’t afford to let this run
Pierre Sage already has enough on his plate, with Palace juggling the Europa League and the Premier League and fresh noise around Jean-Philippe Mateta’s future. Losing a centre-back Inter rate this highly for little or nothing would be a blow the club could have avoided.
The sensible move is simple. Either Palace tie Richards to a new deal before January, or they accept that his value is falling every week and sell on their terms. Letting Inter wait for a free would be the worst of both worlds.