Pierre Sage reveals whether Ismaila Sarr will join Liverpool in January | OneFootball

Crystal Palace manager Pierre Sage has said that the club have no plans to sell Ismaila Sarr in the January transfer window and has advice for the winger after his failed move to Liverpool.

Liverpool were keen on signing Sarr from Palace in the final days of the summer transfer window.

Andoni Iraola’s side were looking to sign a winger because of doubts on Cody Gakpo’s future.

Gakpo had a deal in place to join Man City from Liverpool, who themselves were willing to sell the Netherlands international winger.

However, the Merseyside club were only going to do a deal for Gakpo if they could find a replacement.

Liverpool had set their sights on Sarr, who himself was keen on a move to Anfield before the summer transfer window closed on Tuesday.

Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano reported late last month that Liverpool had a bid of £50m for Sarr rejected.

Liverpool had a second offer for Sarr rejected, too, as Palace refused to sell the 28-year-old Senegal international winger.

The Reds eventually decided to keep Gakpo and reject a bid of £80million from Man City.

Sarr’s agent, Diomansy Kamara, subsequently voiced his displeasure at the winger not getting a move to Liverpool, with another of his clients, Lamine Camara, having to stay at AS Monaco and not complete a switch to Chelsea.

Kamara said in a statement: “The cases of Ismaila Sarr and Lamine Camara must all interrogate us.

“We have to get out of this logic where the African player can sometimes give the feeling that he is just a commodity: you buy it, you set its price, you negotiate its future and, too often, your will seems to go to the background.

“Our African players deserve respect. The respect of their work. The respect of their career. Respecting their ambitions. The respect of their voices.

“A transfer shouldn’t just be a matter of two clubs and numbers. Behind every contract, there’s a man, a career, dreams and life choices.

“The fact that clubs can sometimes have the final word is a reality of professional football.

“But one question remains: what about the career and the will of the player? The player must be able to be heard and respected in the decisions that determine his future.

“Let’s never forget what’s important: behind every success, it’s the players who write history first.”

Palace manager Sage has now broken his silence on Sarr and has urged the winger to focus on doing well for the Eagles.

The Frenchman has also said that Palace are not going to sell Sarr to Liverpool or any other club in the January transfer window.

Ismaila Sarr to Liverpool in January will not happen

Sage told BBC Sport: “Like every bad situation, time does the job and we need time for that.

“He needs time too.

“First of all he needs to recover because he was and is injured.

“He is our player and we are happy with that.”

The Palace manager added: “He has to digest for sure because it’s a dream for a lot of players to play with this kind of club [Liverpool].

“He had a good opportunity but in the end it didn’t work.

“If he wants to continue, you have to have a good season with us as he did last year.

“We know he needs time.”

Sage said when asked if Sarr could leave in January or next summer :“I don’t think (he will leave), I don’t think because all the clubs are in their season.

“We have a decision to take about the European list.”

The Palace manager added: “It’s difficult to move the team when you are in this competition.”