Chelsea goalkeeper Rhys Taylor spent six weeks on loan with QPR last season

Crewe Alexandra are set to sign Chelsea goalkeeper Rhys Taylor on loan after the Premier League winners allowed him to play for Crewe in the Carling Cup.

The club had failed to ask permission to do so, but Gradi has confirmed an agreement has now been reached.

"The boy can play in the Carling Cup, the paperwork is done and he's just got to sign now," he told BBC Radio Stoke.

Taylor is likely to start the season in goal, as Steve Phillips is still recovering from a shoulder operation.

Phillips is the only senior goalkeeper at the club following the departure of Adam Legzdins, who rejected a new contract in May.

Neath-born Wales Under-21 keeper Taylor, 20, is yet to play a first-team game for Chelsea or Queen's Park Rangers, where he spent six weeks on loan during the 2009/10 season.

"They see him as one for the future, they want him to have experience and we'll give it to him," Gradi added.

"He's a goalkeeper that they value because he's only 20 and he's on a much better salary than any of ours, but they will pay the vast bulk of that."

Crewe face Championship side Derby in the first round of the Carling Cup.

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