Palace have made El Khannouss their preferred replacement for Eberechi Eze, who is on the verge of completing a £60m move to Tottenham.
Having agreed the framework of a deal for Eze, the Palace hierarchy have stepped up their pursuit of El Khannouss and are reportedly ready to offer a formal £30m offer for the Moroccan.
Leicester appear to be ready to cash in on El Khannouss, who only joined them from Genk last summer, as they attempt to shore up their financial position in the wake of last season’s relegation to the Championship.
The Leicester board accept they will have to make sales this summer, but they have also pledged to ensure Marti Cifuentes is left with a squad capable of challenging for promotion. As a result, if El Khannouss is given the green light to join Palace, Leicester officials will be much more reluctant to sell Fatawu, who is the subject of ongoing interest from Sunderland.
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[Black Cats](http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/football/sunderland) officials have held preliminary discussions over Fatawu, and are understood to be willing to pay around £30m for the Ghanaian 21-year-old. Fatawu played a major role in Leicester’s promotion under Enzo Maresca two seasons ago, but barely played in the Premier League last season after suffering an ACL injury.
Sunderland remain keen to sign an attacking wide player, having previously agreed a deal for Sassuolo’s Armand Lauriente, only for talks to collapse last month. Fatawu is a leading target, although he is not the only versatile winger currently under consideration.
At the opposite end of the field, Sunderland officials remain in discussions with Bologna over Jhon Lucumi, having tabled another formal offer for the Colombian centre-half yesterday.
The Black Cats are understood to have put together a package that comes close to matching the total value of the €26m release clause within Lucumi’s contract that expired earlier this month.
However, while Lucumi has indicated a desire to move to Wearside, the Bologna hierarchy remain keen to do whatever they can to keep the defender in Serie A.