Crystal Palace have expressed tentative interest in Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham, according to The Sunday World.
The Lowdown: Palace still on the hunt for a new boss
Palace seem to be attempting to make moves in the transfer window despite not having a first-team manager in place.
Steve Parish has come close on two occasions in the club’s attempts to find Roy Hodgson’s long-term successor. Deals for Nuno Espirito Santo and Lucien Favre were verbally agreed, only for talks to then collapse
The Eagles are running out of time to have a new manager in place for pre-season and also have 13 players out of contract at the end of the month.
The Latest: Eagles express interest
According to The Sunday World, Palace have now expressed their interest to the Blues regarding Abraham, however, no decision will be made over a possible deal until a manager is in place.
Reports back in April suggested that Chelsea were willing to sell Abraham for £40m this summer as part of a striker reshuffle at Stamford Bridge.
Abraham, who was described as ‘Drogba-esque’ by Rio Ferdinand, is on £82,000-a-week and has two years remaining on his Chelsea contract.
The Verdict: A club-record deal?
Should a £40m transfer materialise, Abraham would end up smashing Palace’s club transfer record.
The Eagles’ most expensive signing is Christian Benteke, who cost just over £28m from Liverpool.
Benteke has recently signed a new two-year deal at Selhurst Park, while the club also have Jean-Philippe Mateta and Jordan Ayew on the books.
Signing Abraham would bolster the club’s attacking ranks further as he has 26 goals in 89 Premier League appearances.
Palace were planning a £50m summer spending spree, so signing Abraham may well take up a large chunk of their funds.
In other news: ‘Please, please, please’, ‘No way’ – Many CPFC fans react as managerial news emerges, find out more here.