United States defender Richards joins Crystal Palace from Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich defender Chris Richards has joined Premier League side Crystal Palace on a five-year deal.

The eight-cap United States international spent the majority of the past two seasons on loan with Hoffenheim, where he made 34 appearances.

He was pushed further down the central-defensive pecking order at Bayern following the arrival of Matthijs de Ligt from Juventus earlier this month.

Palace confirmed on their official website on Wednesday that Richards has put pen to paper on a long-term contract at Selhurst Park.

Patrick Vieira’s side are reported to have paid an initial £8.5million (€10m), potentially rising to £11m (€13m), for the 22-year-old.

Richards, who departs Bayern having made 10 first-team appearances after joining from FC Dallas in 2018, is looking forward to a new challenge in England.

“I grew up watching the Premier League and grew up watching [Wilfried] Zaha, so it’ll be cool to spend some time on the field with and be a part of this historic club,” he said. 

“I’m really excited for it. It’s a lot of young players but also young players who have a lot of fight. Palace is a club that seems like they’re always fighting.”