Liverpool have rejected a £25 million (€27 million) bid from Crystal Palace for Mamadou Sakho as they hold out for £30 million for the exiled defender.
Palace’s offer, submitted by the chairman Steve Parish on Tuesday, was £22 million plus £3 million in add-ons for a defender who has been frozen out of Jürgen Klopp’s plans and enjoyed a successful loan spell at Selhurst Park last season. The bid was Palace’s third for the 27-year-old this summer and was rejected by Liverpool who, with Leicester City and West Bromwich Albion also interested in Sakho, are confident of obtaining their £30 million asking price before the transfer deadline on Thursday.
Liverpool will accept a structured deal to receive £30 million and Palace remains Sakho’s most likely destination with the former Paris Saint-Germain captain favouring a move to London. But Palace will need to improve their terms to prevent a Premier League rival beating them to the player’s signature.
Busy few days
Anfield officials hope to be very busy before the transfer window closes, with the club ready to spend in the region of £150 million to land Thomas Lemar from Monaco and Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk, although the players’ respective employers remain reluctant to let them leave.
Liverpool have had several inquiries for the French international Lemar dismissed by Monaco who, despite agreeing a deal for the Lazio winger Keita Balde Diao, maintain the 21-year-old will not be leaving in this transfer window. That will not deter Liverpool’s attempts to strike a deal before the deadline.
Divock Origi would be allowed to move on loan in the opposite direction as a makeweight in a Lemar transfer, although Liverpool insist reports of an €80-million-plus-Origi bid for the versatile forward are premature. The club remain adamant that Philippe Coutinho will not be sold to Barcelona despite their interest in Lemar.
The Van Dijk show
Southampton are also standing firm in their refusal to sell Van Dijk to Liverpool. The Dutch international would prefer a move to Anfield over Chelsea or Arsenal, and Klopp is ready to make him the game’s most expensive defender at about £70 million. However, Southampton have not yet bowed to the 26-year-old’s attempts to force an exit. Relations between the clubs are also strained following allegations earlier in the summer from Southampton that their team captain had been tapped up by Liverpool.
Klopp also retains an interest in Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain despite the England international appearing destined for Chelsea. Arsenal have been so far unwilling to deal with Liverpool, who could sell Lazar Markovic to Watford this week.
– Guardian service
