According to The Sun, Serie A outfit Roma are planning a £25m bid for Crystal Palace left-back Patrick van Aanholt in January. 

The Dutchman has started all 17 games for The Eagles so far this season, and has been ever-present for Palace since joining from Sunderland in Janaury 2017.

This will be a deal that will divide Crystal Palace fans, as there are positives and negatives to this deal.

Of course, the fans will not want to see the 28-year-old leave the club, as he has been one of the club's best performers over the past few years. However, they do have the likes of Jeffrey Schlupp to deputise, although manager Roy Hodgson has not deployed the Ghana as a defender before, rather a midfielder.

On the other hand, £25m may just be too tempting a price for Crystal Palace to turn down. There is no secret that The Eagles will need to spend in January, with a new striker being their prime target. That fee could go a long way in securing someone that could save Palace's ailing attack.

The additional factor is that van Aanholt surely would not want to turn this opportunity down himself. While Palace are certainly a respectable team, Roma are a team that made the Champions League semi-final last year, and are in the next round of the competition this year. As much as Palace may want to keep hold of him, they would surely not want to inhibit his career.

Ultimately, however, the deciding factor may be the fee, which may be too good for Palace to refuse.