Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek is reportedly set to undergo a medical with Crystal Palace on Monday ahead of a season-long loan move.
The 21-year-old was limited to just six Premier League appearances last season, and so for the good of his development, a loan move elsewhere will undoubtedly benefit him.
Whether he’ll be able to force his way back into plans at Stamford Bridge remains to be seen, but as reported by The Telegraph, he’s expected to complete his medical and sign his new contract in the next 24 hours.
As for Palace, it will be Frank De Boer’s first signing since taking charge of the club, as he has evidently seen enough of the youngster to believe that he can play an important role for his side next season.
Having fended off the likes of Newcastle, Brighton and Southampton, it shows that the youngster was in demand, but the Dutch tactician has wasted little time in making his move and he’ll likely be the first of many new arrivals at Selhurst Park.
It’s arguably a concern for Chelsea fans though that another young talent has been shipped out on loan instead of being used as depth ahead of an important season for the Blues.
Loftus-Cheek joins Tammy Abraham and Kasey Palmer in being sent out on loan this summer, while Nathaniel Chalobah and Izzy Brown are expected to follow soon enough too in a permanent and loan exit respectively.
The Telegraph go on to note that having signed Antonio Rudiger at the weekend, deals for Tiemoue Bakayoko and other targets are in the pipeline and so evidently Antonio Conte isn’t going with youth next season.
Some will argue that’s the right call if the Premier League champions have the means to buy top talent to make an immediate impact, but that’s a significant number of promising stars unlikely to have a future at Chelsea moving forward.