CRYSTAL Palace boss Alan Pardew is leaving the chase for Blackburn Rovers top-scorer Rudy Gestede in the hands of his chairman Steve Parish.

Parish’s £3.5m bid was rejected by Rovers who are determined to keep hold of the 12-goal striker.

And asked yesterday whether there had been a breakthrough in Palace’s pursuit of Gestede, Pardew said; “No, not that I’m aware of.

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“I think we’ve enquired on about three, four or five different players and whether they’re available. That’s really where we’re at.

“The chairman is pursuing some lines of enquiry in the right manner, in the way it should be conducted.

“I’m not going to talk about other players at other clubs. I don’t think that’s fair.”

Gestede’s Rovers strike-partner Jordan Rhodes was yesterday linked with Palace’s Premier League rivals Swansea City.

But the Ewood Park outfit have not been contacted by Swansea or any other club over Rhodes.

Rovers boss Gary Bowyer said: “At the moment no-one has enquired about our players other than Rudy Gestede.

“If my phone doesn’t ring until the end of this window I’ll be delighted.”