Former Reds striker Christian Benteke has attempted to convince Mamadou Sakho to sign for Crystal Palace after a successful loan spell.
With Benteke netting at one end and Sakho helping keep clean sheets at the other, Palace managed to avoid relegation from the Premier League last term—but the defender’s future remains uncertain.
Liverpool have placed a reported £30 million valuation on the French international, too high for Palace to contemplate according to club chairman Steve Parish.
But Benteke—a team-mate of Sakho’s at Anfield prior to both landing at Palace last term—saw enough to know the former PSG man was a must-have for the Eagles.
Speaking to Sky Sports while on international duty with Belgium, Benteke has admitted he has attempted to convince Sakho to remain at Selhurt Park for 2017/18.
“Yes, I tried, I tried to convince him to stay. But at the end of the day, it’s up to him. He knows what he needs and what he wants to do.
“Obviously it won’t be easy because of the demand, but we’ll see. Hopefully he’s going to stay.”
Palace are without a manager at present, complicating any chances of a quick transfer even without the problematic high fee.
Sakho, who fell out of favour with Jurgen Klopp after breaching club discipline last summer in pre-season, is one of a number of Reds expected to depart this summer in a bid to raise significant funds to boost Klopp’s squad.
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