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Ward will also offer Vitor Matos an option at centre-back, with Kaylan Kessie having been a back-up to Ben Cabango and Cameron Burgess this season with summer signing Ricardo Santos making just one substitute appearance.
Ward spent 13 seasons playing for Palace in the Premier League after helping the Eagles win promotion from the Championship in the 2012-13 season, his first year at the club after joining from Portsmouth.
He played 364 matches with Crystal Palace, scoring six goals, but he played on only three occasions last season.
Ward was an unused substitute when Oliver Glasner’s side beat Manchester City in the FA Cup final last May, having recently played regular football when he made 26 appearances in the 2023-24 season.
Ward described winning the cup as a “fairytale ending” to his Palace career.
“It has been an amazing journey with so many beautiful memories, and so many wonderful moments – moments that will live in my mind for the rest of my life,” he said in a statement last May.
“This isn’t ‘goodbye’ – it’s just ‘see you later’.”
Hampshire-born Ward made 96 appearances for Portsmouth after joining Pompey’s academy, while also playing 25 times for Bournemouth while on loan as a youth.
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