Mamadou Sakho will be missed by Liverpool and Crystal Palace at Anfield

Missing man | Mamadou Sakho
AFP/Getty Images
Tom Dutton18 August 2017

As Huddersfield's third goal struck the back of Wayne Hennessey's net, minds jumped back to Crystal Palace's humiliating 4-0 defeat to Sunderland in February.

At that stage, escape artist Sam Allardyce had been in charge of Palace for around six weeks, the club's bank balance was £40million lighter after a January splurge, and results were refusing to turn.

There were comparisons to be drawn on Saturday. While on both occasions Palace were given a handsome thrashing by supposed drop rivals, here also was a Palace manager struggling to implement his style, and a defence lacking strength and steel.

Patrick van Aanholt was beaten to a near-post corner for the first, Jairo Riedewald was caught flat-footed for the second and De Boer's new-look defence was blown wide open by a searching goal kick for the third.

It immediately threw up questions about Palace's ability to transition from a direct, counter-attacking side to one playing the football De Boer favours, where his players dictate opponents at both ends of the table.

Photo: Christopher Lee/Getty Images
Christopher Lee/Getty Images

The answer last season was Mamadou Sakho, who had arrived at Palace on loan from Liverpool ahead of their defeat to Sunderland but remained on the bench for that drubbing.

Sakho made his Palace debut in a 1-0 win over Middlesbrough later in February and remained the rock at the heart of their defence as Allardyce's side picked off Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool during a seven-game unbeaten sequence which ultimately secured the club's survival. The 27-year-old was hailed as the club's saviour and shortlisted for the Fans' Player of the Year.

He is perhaps unfairly painted as a lumbering central defender, winning cult status at Selhurst Park not only for his gritty defensive displays, but also as a cool head at the back who was comfortable in possession and had an eye for a pass.

His style would fit well with De Boer's project, and Liverpool are determined to sell. Indeed, the Reds have defensive deficiencies of their own, but Klopp is certain not to fall back on Sakho, who has been frozen out of the first-team picture at Anfield.

Photo: Ian Walton/Getty Images
Ian Walton/Getty Images

Curiously, the defender will sit out as Palace and Liverpool do battle on Saturday, despite both clubs desperately lacking his attributes. So could he again be Palace's answer?

"I don't know," said De Boer last week. "He was a major player last season, we know what he did. Any player of that quality is a benefit."

Palace remain reluctant to match Liverpool's £30m asking price and have recently pursued other avenues, namely targeting Calum Chambers and losing a tug-of-war with Stoke City over Burno Martins Indi, while reports linked the club to Tottenham's Kevin Wimmer.

Whether a ploy to force down Sakho's price or a genuine change of direction in terms of targets, Palace are firm that they will not meet Liverpool's demands.

The club's spend in January has encouraged prudence this summer, but their defeat to Huddersfield exposed the risks of piecing a defence together on a net spend of £8million. And it seems rivals have acknowledged the significant outlay needed to introduce reassurance to the defensive line. Notably, Leicester parted with £17m for Harry Maguire, Everton spent £25m bringing in Michael Keane, while Manchester City have reportedly lodged a £22m bid for West Brom's Jonny Evans.

Indeed, it is no longer just the Premier League's elite splashing considerable funds in the summer arms race, and in a swollen market the fee demanded for Sakho could well represent smart business.

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