Crystal Palace have reportedly moved ahead of Chelsea in the race for both Matheus Franca and Elye Wahi.
Twenty-year-old Wahi has been a revelation in Ligue 1 over the past two campaigns, as only Kylian Mbappe has reached 30 goals in the league at a younger age.
In an attack-minded Montpellier HSC side, Wahi netted 19 goals last season, but the team could only manage a mid-table finish.
L'Equipe claims that Palace have made a bid for the young striker, but face competition from Paris Saint-Germain and Atletico Madrid, as well as Chelsea who initially appeared to be the favourites to land him.
However, according to RMC Sport, Wahi appears reluctant in making the move to Chelsea given that the club plan on sending him out on loan to Strasbourg immediately.
Regular Premier League football at Palace represents a more attractive proposition to Wahi, instead of playing for a side who finished 10 points below his current side Montpellier last season.
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A fee of £35m had been touted for Wahi from Chelsea, so Palace may need to match that for Montpellier to progress with negotiations.
A similar scenario appears to have happened regarding Franca's future too, with both London clubs also battling for his signature.
Likewise with Wahi, Torcedores claims that Franca also has doubts about joining Chelsea because he would rather play in the Premier League straight away instead of being loaned out to Strasbourg.
The report further states that Palace have agreed a £26m deal with Flamengo for the 19-year-old in a deal that is at a more advanced stage than the one for Wahi.
Franca has battled with injury for much of the year, but despite still being a teenager, he already has seven league goals for Flamengo, as well as a further two in the Copa Libertadores.
With Christopher Nkunku through the door at Stamford Bridge, and Dusan Vlahovic heavily linked, Wahi and Franca are unlikely to have a first-team role at Chelsea.
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Palace meanwhile, are in the market for attackers with rumours suggesting that Jean-Philippe Mateta could complete a move away from the club.
Reports earlier in the week linked Mateta with a move to RB Leipzig, where he would link up with manager Marco Rose again after the pair worked together at Mainz.
Mateta found the net just twice in the Premier League last season, and despite scoring the late winner in Roy Hodgson's first game in charge, the French striker struggled for minutes under Patrick Vieira's replacement.
Andrew Delaney
