With Palace having announced the signing of QPR goalkeeper Alex McCarthy, Dan Wimbush from the Tilehurst End blog gives us the lowdown on the 25-year-old, who spent a significant time with Reading before moving to London.

It's pretty safe to say that Crystal Palace will be getting a relative bargain if they do manage to pick up Alex McCarthy for just £3.5m. 

What's good for Palace will come as a big blow for Reading's bean counters who had no doubt expected the former England U21 keeper to net them a tidy sell-on fee after joining QPR for around £3m less than a year ago.

A dire financial situation at the Madejski Stadium coupled with the fact that Alex had just a year left on his deal meant that he had to be sacrificed as a saleable asset, leaving Adam Federici to run down his final year unopposed between the sticks.

While the move was understandable, few fans were happy to see the keeper leave the club as he was almost universally rated the better prospect in the long-term. Plus as an Academy graduate, Alex had an extra connection to the Reading fanbase that the Aussie didn't enjoy.

Even before making his Royals debut, McCarthy had already proved himself a highly promising goalkeeper out on loan. Yeovil and Brentford fans had only positive things to say about the keeper, who even took League Two's 'Golden Gloves' award while at Griffin Park.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mGhAP5UmOY

Once Marcus Hahnemann left Reading in 2009, McCarthy soon become the club's regular number two and when Federici suffered an injury during early 2011, Alex seamlessly took his spot, helping us not only to a play-off final but also to an FA Cup quarter-final where he put in an outstanding display against Manchester City.

Federici would take his spot back as the senior keeper but after a wobble during our return to the Premier League, McCarthy would again get the chance to impress. Excellent performances followed but an injury in the final minute of another brilliant display away at QPR saw him ruled out for four months just as he was poised to earn an England call-up.

Fortunately McCarthy returned none the worse from a shoulder injury and cemented his reputation as one of England's best young keepers with a remarkable performance against a Liverpool team containing Luis Suarez.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sc0i4o8GPo8

An England call-up followed for a friendly with Brazil but his return to the Championship with Reading dented his international chances before a year on the bench at QPR similarly kept him in the international shade.

So what are you getting from McCarthy?

His main strength is his shot stopping ability. If you watch either of the clips above then that becomes apparent, while his handling and command of his box are also plus points on his CV.

On the other hand his distribution has always been his major weak point, while some have questioned his ability to organise a defence effectively.

Palace are certainly 'buying low' on McCarthy. He's nowhere near his peak and if he gets a regular run of games could certainly force his way back into the England squad. He may never be a top, top goalkeeper but he's easily got the potential to at least be at the level of a Ben Foster or Fraser Forster.

All the best for the season, now if you could just send us Glenn Murray back...