Crystal Palace are reported to be considering a £10m move for Chelsea right-back Reece James, as the defender continues to impress on a loan spell with Wigan Athletic in the Championship.
The 19-year-old joined the Latics in the summer, and has quietly become one of the division's most promising talents despite Wigan's struggles at the bottom end of the table.
He's made 35 appearances in total, and has rarely looked out of his depth at such a young age, leading to much speculation about where his long-term future may lie, and the latest report suggests Crystal Palace could be a potential destination.
Palace, according to The Sun (via HITC) are prepared to put in a bid of around £10m to bring him to Selhurst Park in the months to come, but could face competition from rivals Brighton and Hove Albion for his signature.
It then goes on to add that Chelsea aren't keen to sell him, however, so if that's the case then the valuation in question does seem a tad on the cheap side for one of their hottest prospects.
The Blues, it's thought, prefer to loan him out to one of Europe's 'top clubs' to hone his trade - but that could be complicated by the forthcoming amendments to FIFA's loan regulations, which could restrict the amount of players any one side is permitted to have loaned out at a given time from next season.
To further complicate matters, a transfer embargo placed on the Stamford Bridge side for the next two windows means they cannot sign players permanently for the forseeable future, so they may be keen to keep James around as cover for Cesar Azpilicueta should Davide Zappacosta leave the club in the summer.
In any event, his future does seem to be shrouded in uncertainty, so it should be an interesting story to follow over the next few months.
Source : 90min