Borussia Dortmund have expressed an interest in signing Wilfried Zaha from Crystal Palace in the summer, with the Bundesliga leaders prepared to smash their transfer record to sign the Ivory Coast international.

Dortmund are understood to have already made contact with Zaha’s representatives as they attempt to find a replacement for Christian Pulisic, who joined Chelsea this month for £58m but will not arrive at Stamford Bridge until next season. Despite signing a new contract at Selhurst Park at the start of this season worth £130,000 a week that lasts until 2023, it is believed that the 26-year-old would be open to a move to Germany as he is keen to play in the Champions League.

Zaha has struggled to replicate his form from last season having scored just twice and provided three assists so far in the Premier League. Nonetheless, Palace are likely to demand a fee in excess of £50m for the player who rejoined the club in 2015 after an ill-fated spell with Manchester United. Dortmund’s current transfer record is the €30m they paid Wolfsburg for André Schürrle in 2016, although they have recouped more than £220m since August 2017 from the sales of Pulisic, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Ousmane Dembélé.

Meanwhile, Palace’s quest for forward reinforcements looks set to rumble on into the final week of the transfer window. Interest in Everton’s Cenk Tosun, who almost moved to Selhurst Park last summer, and Shinji Okazaki of Leicester has cooled with Christian Benteke set to step up his return from injury in the FA Cup tie against Tottenham on Sunday.