Crystal Palace could u-turn on Ismaila Sarr to Liverpool position but it depends on one thing

Liverpool have seen Crystal Palace reject an opening £50m bid for Ismaila Sarr.

The Merseysiders appear to have moved on to the Senegalese international, with Brighton having set an £80m asking price for Yankuba Minteh.

Meanwhile, Andoni Iraola’s side are thought to be closing in on a permanent transfer for Bradley Barcola.

Liverpool will have to go higher than £50m to secure Ismaila Sarr

In a report shared on X (formerly Twitter) by Foday Manneh, it was confirmed that the 28-year-old winger is being looked at as an alternative target.

The Reds are understood to have admired Sarr since 2020, but instead pivoted to Wolves’ Diogo Jota.

However, with Liverpool struggling to bolster the flanks so far, it appears they’ve returned to an old name on the shortlist, with six days remaining before the window closes on September 1.

Unfortunately, and quite similarly to our prior pursuits of Minteh and Ibrahim Mbaye, it appears we’ll have to pay over the odds to get this signing over the line.

At this point, what’s the harm in considering Ibrahim Mbaye? Even if PSG do push for a fee around the £60m mark.

Crystal Palace’s position may soften with a replacement secured

One key detail that could change the course of this transfer is whether or not the Eagles can secure a replacement ahead of the window closing.

Simon Jones reported for the Daily Mail that a move currently looks unlikely: “Palace’s concern is finding a quality replacement at this stage and they will not do a deal unless they have one in place.”

So, technically speaking, Liverpool could secure Sarr for what they’d consider to be a reasonable asking price.

But that’s putting a lot of faith in Palace sealing a deal for a replacement in the next six days. And as Liverpool have proven in recent months, securing top-quality offensive reinforcements is far from being a quick and easy job.

In that case, they may very well have to accept – given how late we’ve left things this summer – that we’re going to have to overpay for one of the targets on our shortlist.

Either that or we’re set to leave Andoni Iraola criminally short of options up top.