Roy Hodgson poised to make Getafe goalkeeper Vicente Guiata his first signing at Crystal Palace in £3.5m deal

• e-mail

Getafe goalkeeper Vicente Guaita is expected to become Roy Hodgson's first signing as Crystal Palace manager with a deal for the £3.5million Spaniard likely to be completed this week.

Hodgson has alternated between Wales international Wayne Hennessey and veteran Julian Speroni since becoming manager in September and he will hope 31-year-old Guaita can play an important part in the club's fight against relegation.

Guiata played nearly 100 games for Valencia including Champions League ties against Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Paris St Germain before joining Getafe in 2014.

Crystal Palace are close to completing a £3.5million deal for Getafe goalkeeper Vicente Guiata

Palace are also looking at their January options regarding outfield players with Scott Dann, Jeffrey Schlupp, Andros Townsend, Jason Puncheon and Connor Wikcham all out with long-term injuries. Key defender Mamadou Sakho is also unlikely to return until next month with a calf injury. 

But Hodgson has also recently played down talks of them doing a lot of business this window. He said: 'We are not having many transfers confirmed in this window.

'I know that (Francis) Coquelin has gone to Valencia, for example, that (Virgil) van Dijk has gone to Liverpool; I think (Alex) Pritchard has gone to Huddersfield.

'But we are not exactly reading every day that this player has been signed, that player has been signed. The one thing we know for certain is that the agents out there are working 24-7 and the clubs, many like ourselves, are working very hard to find an answer to areas to where we need reinforcements.

Palace are expected to announce the deal this week, which will be Roy Hodgson's first as boss

'It is interesting to see that very few transfers seem to have been actually nailed down in the middle of January. 

'It is going to be a busy month, that is for sure. What actually happens at the end of it in terms of what players arrive here - if any - is another question altogether.

'I have sketched out the profiles, we have identified the areas where we would like some players to come in. Big question, are we going to find them? 

'That is not just Crystal Palace asking that question, it is probably everyone from the top three or four downwards.'