Transfer Centre

Sam Allardyce to delay decision over bid for Mamadou Sakho

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 18 May 2017

Allardyce to delay decision over Sakho bid

Sam Allardyce is still unsure whether he will be given the money required to make a bid for Liverpool defender Mamadou Sakho, who is reportedly valued at £30m.

Crystal Palace boss Sam Allardyce has said that he intends to hold talks with chairman Steve Parish before deciding whether to make a bid to sign Mamadou Sakho from Liverpool.

The France international took little time to win over supporters upon joining on loan in January, providing some solidity at the back and helping the Eagles to five wins during his eight-game stint.

Sakho, recently named in the running to be crowned Palace's Player of the Year, could now be the subject of a big-money bid should Allardyce be afforded a healthy budget by the club's backers.

"The chairman has said for a while that he would try to negotiate but for a club like ours the figures would have to match up to what else we've got to try and do," he told reporters.

"So, if we've got the budget for it, that's the big question - have we got the budget for it? If we have, that's great, if we haven't then we have to move on. We'll need strengthening in other areas and it depends how much that pot weakens the financial position to strengthen other areas.

"So we'll have a conversation about that in the next meeting, me and the chairman, and we'll hopefully go in the same direction as what we want to renegotiate, what we want to move on from the club and what we want to bring in and that'll be a tough summer as always."

Sakho, who has not featured for Palace since April 26 due to a season-ending injury, is said to be valued at £30m by Liverpool.