Mamadou Sakho Hints at Crystal Palace Summer Exit in Order to Regain Place in France Squad
Crystal Palace centre back Mamadou Sakho has raised question marks over his future at the club after hinting he may need to move to a side in the Champions League so he can reclaim his place in the French national team.
Sakho was linked with a move away from Selhurst Park in January but ended up staying at the club, however it now appears that he is ready to end his two-and-a-half-year stay in South London.
As reported by the Sutton & Croydon Guardian, the defender spoke to French football magazine show Telefoot to explain that, despite being happy where he is, he has the desire to once again play in the Champions League and return to the international fold.
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Sakho said: “I am enjoying myself at Crystal Palace, but in life you never know what will happen tomorrow.
“I am not especially thinking about EURO 2020 but everyone who knows me knows that I am ambitious. The best thing for a player is to start in Ligue 2, Ligue 1, then the Champions Leagueand the national team.”
The 29-year-old has only played once for France since he was forced to miss Euro 2016 because of an anti-doping violation which was ultimately dismissed by FIFA.
Sakho has also been missing for the Eagles in recent weeks having injured his meniscus in their 4-1 victory over Leicester City at the end of February, and the defender confirmed he will be out until pre-season.
He added: “I will be back to play in mid-June, and in July the lion will be back! I’ve been lucky and my meniscus is fully repaired.”
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With Sakho confirming he is out for the rest of this campaign, there is a possibility that he has played his last game for Palace - should he indeed manage to engineer a summer move away.
If the club are forced to sell the defender they will look to recoup the majority of the £26m they spent to sign him in 2017, as he still has two years left to run on his contract.
