Leicester City are still coming to terms with their recent relegation to the Championship, but things are set to get worse for the Foxes as Premier League vultures pounce for scraps.

Youri Tielemans has already departed for Aston Villa on a free transfer, and it is widely expected that star attacking duo James Maddison and Harvey Barnes will soon follow – albeit for fairly substantial fees if City get their wish.

Timothy Castagne is the latest Leicester player to be linked with a move away, with Arsenal said to be interested in snapping up the full-back.

However, according to National World Publishing writer Chris Wheatley, Crystal Palace are one of a trio of other top-flight clubs – along with Fulham and AFC Bournemouth – showing an interest in the player, who is currently valued at around £26m by FootballTransfers.

Is Timothy Castagne a good option for Crystal Palace?

Castagne featured in 37 of Leicester's 38 Premier League games last season, starting all but one of those, with no player in the squad coming close to his 3,257 minutes played.

Not that that is much to shout about in what was a terrible campaign for the Foxes, as they dropped out of the Premier League just seven years after winning it.

However, Castagne did catch the eye with his performances down the right-hand side, the Belgium international – who was also occasionally used on the left – scoring two goals and assisting three more.

To put that in some perspective, Castagne's 0.14 goal involvements per 90 in the Premier League last season – which is a slight drop on 0.19 in 2020-21, as per FBref – is substantially higher than the 0.04 Joel Ward managed last season.

Ward, Palace's most used right-back in 2022/23, also comes out second best to Castagne in terms of pass completion per 90 minutes (75.3% compared to 80.1%), take-ons (0.36 v 0.83) and tackles attempted (1.99 v 2.40), though he does perform better when it comes to aerial duels won (2.31 v 1.52).

Indeed, still aged just 27, Castagne is not just someone who can immediately help improve Palace's back line, he is also a player who can stick around for the long term.

There are clear comparisons to be made with Chelsea's long-serving full-back and skipper Cesar Azpilicueta, who is very similar to Castagne in terms of pass completion percentage (80.1 for Azpilicueta compared to 81.9 for Castagne), shot-creating actions (1.47 v 1.41) and tackles won (1.71 v 1.52).

Described as a "fast, non-stop running" player by former Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers, Castagne showed last season in an underperforming Leicester side that he is good enough to stay in the top flight.

With no shortage of potential suitors, Palace chief Steve Parish must ensure the southeast Londoners are at the front of the queue for the Belgian, who has plenty to offer in both the short and the long term.