London club prepare 'pre-agreement' with Chelsea over attacker

That’s just what’s happened today, with independent journalist Aaron Ramiro reporting that Crystal Palace have “accelerated talks” for Chelsea attacker Tyrique George.

They are keen to add to Oliver Glasner’s attacking options, and see academy product George as a perfect option. He came close to joining Fulham on deadline day in the summer for £22m, and we’d expect a similar sum to be what it takes to sign him here.

Chelsea were willing to sell back then, and we’d imagine they would be again now. George has actually ended up playing a fair bit – Liam Delap’s injury and Enzo Maresca’s dissatisfaction with Marc Guiu handed the winger a few chances to play up top. We could see him on Wednesday against Qarabag.

But with Delap now fit and Guiu recalled, we can’t see why the Blues would stand in the way of a “pure profit” sale to Palace. Whether moves will be made to replace him remains to be seen.

In other news…

Robert Sanchez has spoken about what Enzo Maresca said to his players after Chelsea’s big win. The coach apparently highlighted a few key factors behind his side’s win, and noted we need more of them in weeks to come.

That wasn’t the only subject on the keeper’s mind. In the same interview he also spoke about how new managers, new signings and injury had affected his form and confidence early in his Chelsea career. Are you buying it?