Crystal Palace will continue to monitor the progress of QPR attacker Eberechi Eze throughout the remainder of the season, a report from The Sun has claimed.

The Eagles were apparently keen on a move for the 21-year-old during the recently closed January transfer window, although ultimately Eze remained with QPR, who reportedly placed a £20million price tag on the 21-year-old at the start of the month.

According to the latest reports, Palace will now keep tabs on Eze's performances for the remainder of the season, seemingly with the view to making another approach in the summer.

Eze will be entering the final 12 months of his current contract with Rangers at that point, which could put pressure on the Championship side to sell him for a reduced price, in order to avoid losing a key player for free in the summer of 2021.

Since joining QPR in 2016, Eze has made 96 appearances in all competitions for the Championship club, scoring 16 goals - including ten in this season alone, while also providing six assists in the current campaign.

Palace are not the only Premier League side to have been linked with Eze this season, with Tottenham and Southampton also credited with an interest in the attacker.

QPR are currently 16th in the Championship standings, nine points clear of the relegation zone and 12 adrift of the play-off following their 1-0 defeat to Bristol City on Saturday afternoon.

The Verdict

This looks to be a smart approach from Palace.

Despite QPR's own struggles this season, Eze has shown plenty of promise from an individual perspective, which does suggest he could soon be ready to make the step up to the Premier League.

With that in mind, it does make sense for Crystal Palace to maintain their interest here in order to keep themselves ahead of their Premier League rivals in the race for the 21-year-old's signature.

It will be interesting to see if these reports impact on Eze and QPR's results and performances over the next few months, given speculation such as this could be somewhat distracting for the attacker.