Crystal Palace are reportedly looking to sign Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek as Frank de Boer looks to make his first signing this summer.
According to a report by The Telegraph, Frank de Boer is set to make Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek his first signing this summer as the new Crystal Palace manager tries to re-build the squad at his disposal at Selhurst Park.
The report suggests that De Boer is likely to close in on a season-long loan deal for Loftus-Cheek after edging past competition from Newcastle United, Southampton and Brighton. The 21-year-old is set to undergo a medical at Palace sometime soon before the deal gets finalized.
Palace are the only top-flight club so far to have not made a signing this summer but a deal for Loftus-Cheek will kick-start De Boer’s recruitment plans ahead of the forthcoming season.
Chelsea seem to be ready to offload Loftus-Cheek this summer and have made him available for loan after he fell down the pecking order under Antonio Conte. His numbers last season aren’t too encouraging either since he made only six Premier League appearances and 11 in total for the Premier League champions.
The Blues have seen an exodus in terms of youngsters leaving the club this summer and Loftus-Cheek is set to become the latest Chelsea academy graduate to secure a loan move away from Stamford Bridge, after Tammy Abraham and Kasey Palmer joined Swansea and Huddersfield respectively.
Loftus-Cheek has shown glimpses of what he is capable of before playing under Conte. He is still very young and is bound to face several more ups and downs in his career. However, if he stays back at Chelsea, he is likely to see very little materialize for him as far as opportunities are concerned and that will only hamper his situation further.
Crystal Palace, on the other hand, will have several chances to offer to him since they have a new manager who will now look to reshape the club and test out different strategies and tactics – all of which can provide ample scope for a player like Loftus-Cheek.
However, he will also need to understand that a loan move might improve him as a player but it will not guarantee an improvement in his Chelsea career. The Blues have a very poor track record for developing youth players through the loan system, and if the deal goes through, he might be kissing goodbye his chances of playing for Chelsea.