What kept Crystal Palace up last season were the performances of Mamadou Sakho after he joined on loan from Liverpool in January.
The Frenchman anchored the defence brilliantly under Sam Allardyce, but it’s unlikely that the Eagles will be able to bring him back on a permanent deal with Liverpool holding out for a fee in the region of £30m for the former PSG defender.
Palace are believed to be eyeing another French centre-back on loan from a Premier League club as the Mirror report that they want to sign Kurt Zouma from Chelsea.
Zouma made just three Premier League starts last season after his return from a lengthy knee injury, but he wants to stay and fight for his place at Stamford Bridge despite Chelsea’s wishes to loan him out to play some regular football.
Chelsea are in the market for a marquee centre-back signing which will force the former Saint-Etienne defender further down the pecking order.
