Thursday 8 September 2016 11:32, UK
Former Arsenal midfielder Mathieu Flamini is undergoing a medical at Crystal Palace.
Eagles manager Alan Pardew confirmed on Tuesday he is interested in signing Flamini, who has been a free agent since leaving the Emirates in the summer.
Pardew is keen to bolster his options in central midfield after missing out on signing Jack Wilshere on loan from Arsenal on transfer deadline day, with the England international instead electing to join Bournemouth.
The former Newcastle boss confirmed he has had meetings with Flamini but said Palace faced strong competition to secure his signature.
"We've had a couple of meetings with Mathieu to talk about what he would do here and how he would feel about competing with Yohan Cabaye, James McArthur, Jason Puncheon, Jordon Mutch, Chung Yong Lee and Joe Ledley," Pardew said.
"We do face strong competition for him, but mainly from clubs who have got a much higher profile than us."
Pardew added: "I like the fact whenever he played, he played in the big, big games at Arsenal when they needed someone to kind of lead the team over the line and get big results.
"I have always admired what he's done, so I am looking at him."
