RELEGATED Watford have told Crystal Palace they will not take a loss on £30million record signing Ismaila Sarr.
Palace boss Roy Hodgson wants the Senegal international, 22, to replace unsettled Wilfried Zaha at Selhurst Park.
Watford have told Crystal Palace they will not take a loss on Ismaila SarrCredit: Reuters
And the Eagles are keen to sign Sarr even if Zaha does not get the big money summer move he is seeking.
But managerless Watford have no intention of reducing their valuation of the winger, despite having to cut costs to adjust to life outside the top flight.
And they are even hoping to start a bidding war to push the player’s price beyond the £30m they paid Rennes for him last summer.
A number of Premier League clubs have been linked with Sarr in recent weeks but Palace are the only one to have made a firm inquiry.
It took Sarr, who still has four years to run on his Vicarage Road contract, a while to adjust to the physical nature of the Premier League.
It was not until the end of November that he started to feature regularly in Watford’s team.
But his two goals in the Hornets’ shock 3-0 win over Liverpool in February confirmed him as an exciting prospect.
Now Hodgson wants to utilise Sarr’s blistering pace to bolster his goal-shy Palace line-up.
And he hopes to persuade chairman Steve Parish and sporting director Dougie Freedman to make a firm offer.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
