Manchester United are open to letting Donny van de Beek go out on loan this month - giving encouragement to Crystal Palace.
Patrick Vieira is targeting the Netherlands international, who is desperate for regular football after a frustrating 18 months at Old Trafford.
While United are reluctant to sell the midfielder, they would consider a temporary move in a bid to build his confidence and Premier League experience.
They want to leave any decision over his long-term future to the next permanent manager, who will be appointed in the summer.
Palace have opened talks over a move for Van de Beek after Newcastle expressed interest earlier this month.
The hope from United’s point of view is that any short-term deal will be as effective as Jesse Lingard’s loan to West Ham last season, which earned the forward an England recall.
But interim manager Ralf Rangnick is determined not to leave himself short in the second half of the campaign, having allowed Anthony Martial to join Sevilla on loan yesterday.
Lingard is also the subject of interest from Newcastle and it is not clear if United would be prepared to allow both him and Van de Beek to depart.
Van de Beek was considered one of the brightest prospects in Europe when signing from Ajax for £35million in 2020.
But he has struggled to adapt to English football and been given limited opportunities under former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and now Rangnick.
But United are bracing themselves for the departure of Paul Pogba in the summer, which would leave the incoming manager with a huge hole to fill in midfield.
