Crystal Palace sign Sakho from Liverpool
London: Mamadou Sakho is back at Crystal Palace after the Eagles signed him from Liverpool in a £26m Deadline Day deal.
The France international was a big hit when he was loaned to the Eagles last season, and they have been attempting to land him on a permanent basis throughout the summer.
Palace confirmed they had finally got their man in the early hours of yesterday morning, after having a fee of £24m plus £2m in add-ons accepted.
Sky Sports News reported earlier this week that Palace had placed a third bid worth £22m, plus £3m in add-ons, but that was turned down.
The Eagles have made a miserable start to the Premier League campaign under new boss Frank de Boer and are without a point in their three matches. Sakho played a key role as they secured Premier League survival under Sam Allardyce towards the end of last season.
He joined Liverpool in 2013 for £18m after a five-year spell at Paris-Saint Germain. Sakho has signed a four-year deal and told the Palace website: “I loved the challenge last year. It was difficult but beautiful and it’s why this summer I thought that Palace was the best choice.
“I am really happy to be here because I have some friends here.
“I still keep in touch with Christian (Benteke), Wilf (Zaha), Bakary (Sako) and Yohan Cabaye, as well as Jason Puncheon. We had a really good ambience last year and so we still speak to each other.
“I am really excited about playing for the Palace fans again, but in football the past is the past and you need to think about today and tomorrow.
“Last year we did a good job and we need to prove that again and have a good objective.
If we put all of our power together, we will have a great season.” Sky Sports