Chelsea have agreed to send striker Michy Batshuayi on loan to Crystal Palace for the rest of the season, the south London club announced on Friday.
Batshuayi and his representatives had turned their attentions to Palace after failing in an attempt to persuade Chelsea to allow him to join bitter rivals Tottenham.
Chelsea had no interest in helping Spurs find temporary cover for the injured Harry Kane, but were prepared to consider permanent offers matching their £35 million valuation of the Belgian in the final hours of the window.
Spurs, however, were not prepared to make a significant permanent investment in Batshuayi, giving Palace a late opportunity to secure the Belgian’s services.
Palace are long-time admirers of Batshuayi — they had a £31.6m bid for the striker accepted by Marseille in July 2016, only for personal terms to scupper any chance of a deal before Chelsea decided to make their move to sign him.
Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na… pic.twitter.com/jGZCb61vV8
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) February 1, 2019
Batshuayi rejected loan offers from Real Betis and West Ham on deadline day, while Everton declined to meet Chelsea’s £35m asking price to buy the striker.
He started just four La Liga games on loan at Valencia in the first half of this season, scoring only twice in 21 appearances in all competitions.
Chelsea head coach Maurizio Sarri had no interest in recalling Batshuayi even before the arrival of Gonzalo Higuain on loan from Juventus last week, saying he needed a striker with “different characteristics” for his system.
Meanwhile, Chelsea announced they have sent winger Lucas Piazon on loan to Serie A struggler Chievo Verona, with the Italian club having the option to buy him at the end of the season.
It is a sixth loan move for Piazon since he joined Chelsea in 2012, having had spells with Malaga, Vitesse, Eintracht Frankfurt, Reading and Fulham.
The former Brazil youth international, who turned 25 earlier this month, has an Italian passport.
Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.