Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish says the Eagles were determined to help out Derby County by agreeing to a mutually beneficial deal for striker Luke Plange.
The 19-year-old arrived at Selhurst Park on deadline day for a reported fee of £1million. He has signed a three-and-a-half-year contract at Palace and will now go back on loan to the Rams for the remainder of the season.
Plange only made his senior debut for Wayne Rooney's side in December but has since scored three goals in six starts for the club, most recently netting in Sunday's 2-2 draw against Birmingham at Pride Park Stadium.
Derby and Palace needed special dispensation from the EFL and Premier League to finalise the transfer, with the Rams currently under a transfer embargo due to being in administration.
It wasn't long ago that Palace were in a similar position, with the club needing to be saved by a group of supporters led by Parish back in 2010.
That moment was referred to by the chairman as Plange was announced as a new signing on Monday night.
"[Luke] has an important role to fulfil playing at Derby, and we appreciate his significance to them in their current circumstances," said the club's chairman and co-owner.
"It is less than 12 years ago that our club was in a similar situation - as a result, we were determined to ensure both clubs benefit through this deal.
"Therefore Luke will return on loan for the remainder of the season and help Derby with their important battles on and off the pitch."
Plange only signed for Derby last summer, having been released from Arsenal's academy without being offered a professional deal.
He quickly settled in the Rams' under-23s set-up, even scoring against Crystal Palace's youngsters in a Premier League 2 match.
“I'm very excited to be joining a big Premier League club," Plange told PalaceTV.
"I'm ready to crack on. Obviously, I’ll be with Derby, fighting for them in the Championship at the moment, but I will be ready to go back to Crystal Palace in the summer and get ready to go.”
