Soccer Football - Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur v Leicester City - Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Britain - January 26, 2025 Leicester City's Bilal El Khannouss celebrates scoring their second goal Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO USE WITH UNAUTHORIZED AUDIO, VIDEO, DATA, FIXTURE LISTS, CLUB/LEAGUE LOGOS OR 'LIVE' SERVICES. ONLINE IN-MATCH USE LIMITED TO 120 IMAGES, NO VIDEO EMULATION. NO USE IN BETTING, GAMES OR SINGLE CLUB/LEAGUE/PLAYER PUBLICATIONS. PLEASE CONTACT YOUR ACCOUNT REPRESENTATIVE FOR FURTHER DETAILS..
Crystal Palace are close to agreeing a deal worth £32m for Leicester City forward Bilal El Khannouss. The Morocco international impressed during his sole Premier League season with Leicester after joining from Genk in the summer of 2024.
The player is widely regarded as a replacement for the outgoing Eberechi Eze who continues to be linked strongly with a move to Tottenham. Palace are believed to be keen on securing a replacement before allowing Eze to leave and have sent enquiries about several players aside from El Khannouss.
Sky Sports has reported that although there is a broad agreement between Palace and Leicester regarding payment structure for El Khannouss, Palace have not yet fully committed to the transfer. The Eagles are still exploring a possible move for Southampton winger Tyler Dibling.
As such, progress has been temporarily halted while the Palace bosses consider their options. Palace have a long standing interest in Dibling and made an offer for the player in January. Southampton ultimately didn’t want to sell and slapped a hefty £45m+ valuation on the player.
The price was deemed too steep for Palace at the time, but they could have the funds now if reports of a £60m deal with Tottenham for Eze are confirmed.
Palace close to El Khannouss deal but still keen on others
Palace may have competition for Dibling, with Premier League rivals Everton also known admirers. The Toffees have had three separate bids rejected for Dibling earlier in the window.
Palace have also shown interest in Club Brugge’s Christos Tzolis, submitting a €30m bid for the player that was rejected by Brugge. Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott is another player of interest for Palace as the club search for their new attacking talisman.
As the negotiations with Tottenham for Eze seemingly drag on, Palace are keen to use the time wisely. With only two weeks remaining in the transfer window, the club will have to move swiftly and decisively as clubs looks to finalize their squads ahead of the new season.
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