Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew set to bid for Chelsea star

Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew is preparing a shock bid of out of favour Chelsea striker Loic Remy, according to reports.

Pardew attempted to take the Frenchman to St James’ Park permanently while in the Newcastle dugout and after seeing his game time limited at Stamford Bridge the Eagles manager has renewed his interest.

Remy joined the Blues from QPR for £8.5m last year but has been restricted to just a handful of starts, with Diego Costa and Didier Drogba ahead of him in the pecking order.

While Remy has had limited chances in the starting line-up under Jose Mourinho, he has still managed to score five goals this campaign, including strikes against the likes of Spurs and Manchester City.

However, the opportunity to link back up with the manager for whom he netted 14 goals in 26 Premier League games could be too good to turn down.

While this bid is still firmly in the rumour stage, reports in Italy suggest Chelsea will be willing to listen to offers for the 28-year-old once the transfer window reopens.

Palace are next in action on March 14 when they host Remy’s old club QPR at Selhurst Park. The Eagles go into the game as 17/20 favourites, while the Hoops, who have been abysmal on the road this term, can be backed at 16/5.

The Eagles seem well stocked up front with Yannick Bolasie, Fraizer Campbell, Wilfried Zaha, Dwight Gayle, Glenn Murray, Marouane Chamakh and Shola Ameobi all featuring this year, but with none of those strikers scoring more than five goals there will surely be room for Remy should he chose to make the switch.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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