January 15 2008

Shaun Derry

Crystal Palace boss Neil Warnock hopes to tie up a permanent deal for Shaun Derry.

The midfielder has been a revelation in his second spell with the club after joining on loan from Leeds.

He returns to Yorkshire after Saturday's key match against Bristol City where he has 18 months left on his contract.

But Warnock hopes he can persuade Leeds to bring him back to South London for a fee.

"We'll be talking to Leeds because his contribution has been good," Warnock told the South London Press.

"Shaun's on a good contract at Leeds so we've got to see if they are ready for him to go and also sort things out this end. I think things will be resolved in the next week to 10 days."

Midfielder Ben Watson hopes the two clubs can thrash out a deal that means Derry stays.

"If he does go back to Leeds, we will really miss him," Watson told the Croydon Guardian. "He has been fantastic since he's been here, he is horrible to play against.

"He keeps things simple, he breaks up play and in my view he is the best at doing that in the Championship. Touch wood, we can sign him on a permanent basis."