June 5 2003

Hayden Mullins

Palace boss Steve Kember will have to release some contracted players during the close season for financial reasons writes Joseph O'Shea.

Palace boss Steve Kember will have to release some contracted players during the close season for financial reasons.

Four out-of-contract players were released this week, but Kember will also have to cut some of the highest earners from the wage

bill, which could see Hayden Mullins, Julian Gray, Ade Akinbiyi, Aki Riihilahti and Danny Granville leave Selhurst Park.

Kember told the Guardian: "There might be some other players leaving for financial reasons. Most clubs are looking to cut their wage bills because of the financial situation of the whole football league and we are no different."

Hayden Mullins, 24, and Julian Gray, 23, are expected to lead a Selhurst exodus of contracted players, because neither player is willing to extend their stay at Palace.

Former England Under21 international Mullins only has a year left on his current deal and will be sold if an appropriate bid is received.

Bolton are the latest of a growing number of Premiership clubs interested in Mullins along with Charlton, Leicester and Aston Villa.

Kember said: "Hayden Mullins is a good player, a Premiership player. His contract is up at the end of next year, and we don’t want to give a player of his class away for nothing.

We have to be realistic and if the desired bid comes in now I would think we will have to let Hayden go. But at this time we have not had one bid for Hayden."

Gray is out of contract after rejecting a new deal in February, and should he find a new club, Palace will receive compensation via a tribunal.

Ade Akinbiyi’s Selhurst future looked all but doomed after last week’s Fans’ Forum when Kember said the big mis-hit man "does not

fit into my style of football".

But the new Palace boss moved to clarify his statement this week, hinting that a mutual agreement to release him from his contract might be best all round.

He said: "He doesn’t fit into style of football that I like to play, but I also made the point that he is on a very lucrative contract which might cause us problems releasing him. You have to look at the situation and find an amicable way of splitting for both parties."

Kember is already targeting a new striker and central midfielder which could spell the end of Aki Riihilahti’s love affair with Palace.

The Finnish international’s committed displays made him a huge fans favourite after Alan Smith signed him in 2000, but an injury hit season, the signing of Shaun Derry and emergence of Ben Watson, 17, have all seen him slip to the fringes of the first team.

Like-wise, the emergence of 18-year-old left back Gary Borrowdale, who has just signed a new contract, could spell the end for Danny Granville who has failed to impress since Trevor Francis signed him from Manchester City in December 2001 for £300,000.