According to The Sun, Crystal Palace have been put off by QPR's £20m valuation of Ebere Eze.
What's the word, then?
Well, the Eagles definitely made an enquiry for the attacking midfielder in January, as QPR's very own Director of Football Les Ferdinand recently told the Beautiful Game Podcast (via The Evening Standard).
However, Ferdinand also said that was as far as Crystal Palace went in their pursuit of Eze in January - no discussions over a potential fee or other technicalities were discussed.
The London-born attacking midfielder has shone for the R's this season, scoring 12 goals while also registering eight assists in the Championship.
There are definitely shades of Wilfried Zaha about the QPR No.10, as both men enjoy a bit of flamboyancy in their game while both honed their skills in the Championship at a London-based club - The Guardian even likened him to ex-QPR star Adel Taarabt, who was arguably one of the most skilful players the Championship has ever housed.
The Guardian also spoke to Marcus Bean, who scouted Eze for Gareth Ainsworth while at Wycombe.
He said: "Ebs makes the game look easy, he goes past players at will and he scores goals as well. I went back to the manager and said: ‘Listen, we need to get him in. He’s got that X Factor.’”
Freedman is wrong to be put off
While £20m is certainly a lot of money for a 21-year-old without any Premier League experience, the Eagles' Sporting Director is wrong to be put off by that figure.
It is quite simply the going rate for exciting Championship stars nowadays, and if the south Londoners don't want to pay it then surely someone else will eventually - this is a real gem of a footballer we're talking about.
For example, as recently as last summer, Sheffield United signed Oli McBurnie for £20m, while Brighton signed Neal Maupay for just under that figure in a deal worth £16m.
Crystal Palace have already lost out on one stellar name in the Championship after West Ham beat them to Jarrod Bowen, so Freedman would be foolish to pass up another rough diamond who isn't being valued unrealistically by QPR at all.
Calling all Eagles fans: Can you get 90% on this quickfire Palace quiz?
In other news, Tony Pulis secured a 2014 bargain when signing this man worth just £10.4k per game for Palace...