by Tom Hughes

Just over three years ago, Crystal Palace completed the signing of Netherlands legend Edgar Davids.

That ludicrous piece of summer transfer business still means I have a bit of an “if we can sign a Dutch legend two years after his retirement then anything is possible” mentality when it comes to Palace player recruitment.

It’s a mentality that’s particularly tested during the summer months when there are so many rumours and downright lies bandied about by attention-seeking agents or panicked journalists struggling to produce content when they can’t rely on match previews and post-game reports to fill their back pages.

Nevertheless, the memory of Davids coupled with our glitzy Premier League riches makes me more susceptible to well-thought out, but nonetheless fictional, transfer gossip.

Wanting to be on the other side of the frenzied speculation for once, my friend Dan suggested I lead a transfer window All of the Time with his idea that Jermain Defoe could be a realistic target for the Eagles this summer.

Your Local Guardian: Jermaine Defoe

Linked? No, but someone like Jermain Defoe would be welcomed at Selhurst Park

I’m not sure if this is because he has the evil mind of a conniving tabloid hack desperate for page hits, secretly hates Tottenham and wants to ruffle feathers, or has a piece of inside information so tantalising that he felt it needed to be broadcast with the upmost haste.

But when he explained himself – the fact Defoe seems likely to leave Spurs, wants to stay in London, wants to stay in the Premier League and Palace will be hunting for a striker with his illustrious pedigree – I finally grasped how easy it is to invent a transfer link that seems plausible.

In fact, I could create a rumour about a lot of people – especially those released on a free from a top flight English club - and few would sound as insane as Edgar Davids did in 2010.

Realistically, we obviously need to spend, but the club won’t let the transfer kitty burn a hole in their pocket like a rampant wallet forest fire.

So take everything with a pinch of salt at this early stage of the window.

When Olly does splash the cash, I'm confident it will be used wisely on Premier League incarnations of January’s Dobbie and Phillips loan deals - players of sensible value with pre-determined qualities - rather than nonsensical shots in the dark.

Just nobody mention Aruna Dindane.