Alan Pardew eager to strengthen squad further for fight against relegationJordon Mutch set for £4.75m move and Lille’s Pape Souaré will arrive for £3.4m

Crystal Palace’s busy squad strengthening before next week’s transfer deadline is to continue with the imminent arrivals of Jordon Mutch from Queens Park Rangers and Pape Souaré from Lille to bolster the club’s battle against relegation. Negotiations also continue with Manchester United to make Wilfried Zaha’s loan spell back at the club permanent.

Mutch, who moved to Loftus Road from Cardiff City only last summer, has found opportunities limited at Rangers despite impressing in the top flight with the Welsh club last season. A fee of around £4.75m will bring the England Under-21 international across the capital and Alan Pardew is keen to utilise his energy and invention in midfield.

QPR had hoped Fraizer Campbell might be included as a makeweight in the deal but Palace have so far proved resistant to the idea of losing one of their forwards to direct relegation rivals.

Souaré was first mooted as a potential signing last month but, having undertaken a medical in Equatorial Guinea, will now complete a £3.4m move from Lille following Senegal’s elimination from the Africa Cup of Nations at the hands of Algeria on Tuesday.

Palace had explored the possibility of signing Neil Taylor from Swansea City in the interim only to revert to Souaré when a deal could not be struck with the Welsh club over a fee.

Zaha is currently on a season-long loan at Selhurst Park with a view to making that return permanent, and the Palace hierarchy are now attempting to bring that forward by six months to offer them more leeway in the loan market before Monday’s deadline. They hope to secure the player for an initial £3m – they have already paid a similar amount under the terms of the loan agreement – with further add-ons for a player who left for Old Trafford for an initial £10m two years ago.

The former Newcastle United striker Shola Ameobi, a free agent, has been at Palace’s Beckenham training ground this week hoping to earn a contract back in the top flight, though there remains interest from West Bromwich Albion and QPR in his availability.

The midfielder Stuart O’Keefe has left Selhurst Park to join Cardiff for an undisclosed fee. The 23-year-old made 51 appearances for Palace after joining from Southend in 2010, and is likely to be joined by other fringe players in departing the club.