Crystal Palace boss Neil Warnock has declared Middlesbrough favourites to sign Ben Watson.

Warnock said: "Middlesbrough have got the opportunity to speak to him first and I'm not sure if he's going to speak to anybody else. Once we agreed a fee other clubs quite rightly can match the fee and talk to him.

"We've had a couple of Premier League clubs, but it's not West Ham or Fulham.

"I'm pleased for Ben, the club and Simon Jordan because we had such a derogatory offer from QPR. We've got a realistic valuation now - £2million is realistic for someone of Ben's quality."