Crystal Palace Had Offer 'Verbally Accepted' for Lille Captain on Deadline Day

Crystal Palace had an offer for Ibrahim Amadou verbally accepted by Lille on transfer deadline day before the French club pulled out of the deal, according to L'Équipe.

Amadou boarded a train to London last Wednesday amidst speculation that a move to the capital was inevitable, but was sent back to France after Lille failed to facilitate the necessary moves to make a transfer happen.

According to reports, the deal hinged on Lille being able to recall Portuguese midfielder Xeka from his loan at Dijon. When it became apparent that that would not be possible, the deal fell through.

Amadou met with Palace owner Steve Parish in London as the Eagles tried to thrash out a deal before midnight. Amadou even ended up pleading down the phone to his current employers at one point, but it seems that his words fell on deaf ears.

L'Équipe reported that the deal agreed for the Cameroon-born midfielder was in the region of €15m. It was believed that the initial deal would be for a loan move worth £1m, with Palace making it permanent if they avoid relegation.

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Lille bought in British agent Willy McKay to help facilitate the transfer, which resulted in West Ham declaring an interest in the player as well, due to McKay's links with the Hammers. David Moyes confirmed in his press conference on Friday that there had been talks about signing Amadou, but to no avail.

Palace also failed in attempts to add another goalkeeper to their roster, with deals for Brondby's Frederik Ronnow and Getafe's Vicente Guaita falling short. However, Guaita is now expected to join the club in the summer instead.

The only transfer the Eagles completed on deadline day was for Norwegian striker Alexander Sorloth, who may be in line to make his debut against Newcastle today.