Crystal Palace win race to sign Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher on loan

Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher is set to sign for Crystal Palace on a season’s loan after turning down interest from Leeds and Newcastle.

The England Under-21 midfielder is yet to make a senior appearance for Chelsea and wants to continue his developmentafter spending last season on loan at West Brom.

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Palace almost signed the 21-year-old on loan last year but borrowed Michy Batshuayi from Chelsea instead and have continued to track the youngster’s progress. They have been rebuilding their team after appointing Patrick Vieira as their manager and hope that Gallagher, who has also had loans at Swansea and Charlton, will give more energy and quality in midfield.

Palace want to lower the age of their squad, having allowed experienced players such as Patrick van Aanholt, Gary Cahill and Andros Townsend to leave, and they have sought to back Vieira in the market. They have strengthened their defence by signing Marc Guehi from Chelsea in a deal that could rise to £20m and buying Joachim Andersen from Lyon. They have also signed the 19-year-old winger Michael Olise from Reading and a new goalkeeper, Remi Matthews.