CRYSTAL PALACE have joined Newcastle United in the battle to land Ruben Loftus-Cheek on a season-long loan, and are hoping the lure of remaining in London will enable them to land the Chelsea midfielder.

Loftus-Cheek has been the subject of considerable interest this summer, with Chelsea having indicated a willingness to loan out the 21-year-old, whose Premier League involvement last season was restricted to just six substitute appearances.

Newcastle boss Rafael Benitez is keen to add the youngster to his midfield ranks, and the Magpies’ recruitment team are confident of fighting off competing interest from Brighton, who have also made inquiries about Loftus-Cheek’s availability.

However, Crystal Palace’s emergence as suitors could present a problem, with the Eagles able to offer Loftus-Cheek an opportunity to fight for regular first-team football without having to leave his current London home.

New Palace boss Frank de Boer is keen to start making inroads in the transfer market, and has identified Loftus-Cheek as a leading loan target.

Newcastle officials have been in touch with their counterparts at Palace in the last couple of weeks to discuss a potential move for Andros Townsend.

The Magpies toyed with the idea of re-signing Townsend in January, only for Palace’s price tag to prove prohibitive, and have asked to be kept informed of any developments this summer.

De Boer is keen to give every member of his current squad an opportunity to prove themselves, but Newcastle are hoping the Dutchman will be persuaded to sell Townsend, who was in and out of the Palace first team under Sam Allardyce last season.

Newcastle have also expressed an interest in signing Fabian Delph from Manchester City, but while they would be willing to meet City’s likely asking price of around £10m, they will struggle to meet the England international’s wages.

Delph is understood to be earning around £80,000-a-week at the Etihad Stadium, and Newcastle would be unwilling to pay that figure to a player who would not necessarily be guaranteed a starting spot ahead of Jonjo Shelvey, Isaac Hayden and Jack Colback.

Stoke and West Brom have also discussed Delph’s position with the Manchester City hierarchy, although the former are only currently interested in a loan deal.

Meanwhile, Benitez remains keen to sell a number of fringe players who have returned to training, but who do not have a long-term future on Tyneside.

Emmanuel Riviere and Henri Saivet have been offered to a number of clubs in France, Holland and Belgium, while Grant Hanley is expected to drop back into the Championship, with Sheffield Wednesday currently pushing hardest for his signature.

Massadio Haidara and Achraf Lazaar have been told they are free to seek alternative employers, and it remains to be seen whether Siem de Jong and Tim Krul are involved in next week’s training trip to Ireland, having returned from loan spells overseas last season.