Dowie's Routledge demand

14 April 2012

Iain Dowie says Crystal Palace should not consider selling Wayne Routledge unless they get a huge offer.

The club have already turned down a £2 million bid from Tottenham for the winger, causing negotiations to stall.

Spurs have let it be known they are now looking elsewhere and Palace are facing the prospect of keeping a player who wants to leave and has rejected a new contract.

But Dowie is unconcerned because he believes Routledge, rated at around £4m, could be invaluable to his side's fight against relegation.

He said: "We turned down a bid of £2m. A reasonable fee for him would be a much bigger amount than has been talked about.

"We have to look at what we would get at a tribunal and how much value we can get from having him until the summer. That is important." Palace would hope to get around £1.5m for Routledge at a tribunal if he left when his contract ends in the summer.

He could also make a big contribution before then to the club's survival in the Premiership, which would be worth around £20m in total.

But that is not Dowie's only concern. He said: "If Wayne is still here next Tuesday after the transfer window has closed I will not be unhappy.

"I want what is best for him and that is to play football week in, week out. Wayne is the cream of our academy and he will develop into a proper player. I thought he handled a difficult situation very well when we played Spurs at the weekend."

Goalkeeper Gabor Kiraly was also impressive in the 3-0 win and Dowie confirmed Palace have opened talks with him about a new contract.

The Hungary international signed a two-year deal when he joined as a free agent in the summer but has made enough appearances to trigger new negotiations.

The manager said: "Discussions are on-going with Gabor. We had an agreement to review his contract and he has done really well for us. We are hoping to sign him on a longer deal."

Dowie's Routledge demand

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