Chelsea’s Ruben Loftus-Cheek to have Crystal Palace medical with season-long loan planned for England youngster
RUBEN LOFTUS-CHEEK is set to have a medical at Crystal Palace.
The Chelsea youngster had interest from Newcastle, Brighton and Southampton but Palace have pounced to seal a season-long loan.
Frank de Boer is set to make the 21-year-old his first signing after being appointed manager at Selhurst Park.
The Dutchman moved swiftly to secure the England Under-21 midfielder, who missed this summer's European Championship with a back injury.
Loftus-Cheek has never been loaned out during his time at Stamford Bridge and has been involved in first-team squads for three seasons.
There is still hope that he will eventually be a key player for Premier League champions, although Antonio Conte is willing to let him get top-flight experience before returning to compete for a place.
Last season he was behind N'Golo Kante and Nemanja Matic in the pecking order in central midfield.
And Conte is set to sign Tiemoue Bakayoko, which means Loftus-Cheek will be allowed on loan.
PALACE TRANSFER NEWS
Chelsea unveiled German defender Antonio Rudiger from Roma for a fee of £34million.
But the West London club were panned on social media for a cheesy video set in the club shop.
The Bakayoko deal has been a source of frustration for Conte so far, with Manchester United reportedly set to spark a bidding war for the French defensive midfielder.
Conte also missed out on Romelu Lukaku to United, with the Belgian set to complete his transfer to the Red Devils when he meets up with the squad in Los Angeles.
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