Crystal Palace duo Yohan Cabaye and Joel Ward set for contract talks next week

CRYSTAL PALACE duo Yohan Cabaye and Joel Ward are set for contract talks at the club next week.

Both players are out of contract in the summer with new deal discussions put on ice while the club battled relegation.

Now, with the Eagles all but securing their Premier League status for another season, Roy Hodgson is set to battle to cling on to the pair.

Speaking ahead of this summer's transfer window, the ex-England chief claimed he had a tough for weeks ahead.

Hodgson revealed: “We need to get our preparation and recruitment right because we are going to be losing some very good players at the end of this season.

“There are several out of contract.

"You can’t talk with people like Yohan Cabaye, Joel Ward, Julian Speroni, Damien Delaney or Chung-yong Lee until you know where you’re going to be and what you’ve got to offer.

"So this is going to be hard work in the coming days for myself and [sporting director] Dougie Freedman.

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“There’s no doubt we are losing players, not least [loanees] Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Tim Fosu-Mensah, quite apart from anyone who might leave the club for other reasons.

"We’ll have to canvas those players and find out their plans.”

Now Palace are set to hold talks with at least Cabaye, 32, and Ward, 28, ahead of another season in the top-flight.

However, ex-Newcastle star Cabaye may need to accept a cut from his current £100,000-a-week wages, with Ligue 1 side Marseille interested in taking him across The Channel.

Meanwhile, Hodgson has also revealed he is "fairly confident" in keeping hold of Christian Benteke beyond the summer window.

Palace are also interested in bringing Fulham full-back Ryan Fredericks, Anderlecht midfielder Leander Dendoncker and Getafe No1 Vicente Guaita to Selhurst Park.