Ismaila Sarr's Liverpool Move: Crystal Palace Under Pressure
Ismaila Sarr has not kicked a ball for Crystal Palace this season, yet he already sits at the centre of their campaign.
The winger, sidelined with a groin injury, is pushing for a move to Liverpool before the transfer window closes, with talkSPORT reporting that the Senegal international sees Anfield as his next step. Liverpool view him as a potential replacement for Cody Gakpo, who is being heavily courted by Manchester City.
Palace’s stance is firm. For now.
With three years left on his contract and the clock ticking towards deadline day, the south London club are refusing to sanction a sale this late in the window. They may have to hold that line under intense pressure, because Sarr has already made his own feelings clear in the modern footballer’s most public way: he has wiped his Instagram of all Palace-related content.
For a player who has become the symbol of Palace’s recent resurgence, that is no small gesture.
McCoist: ‘It would be a disaster for Palace’
Ally McCoist believes the club simply cannot afford to blink.
"I don't see it happening," McCoist told talkSPORT Breakfast when asked about a possible move to Liverpool. "I'm not sure he's exactly what Liverpool need. I just think it would be a disaster for Palace if they lost him."
Disaster is a strong word, but the numbers back up the concern. Since arriving from Marseille in August 2024, Sarr has hit 33 goals and laid on 10 assists for Palace, output that helped drive the club to an FA Cup triumph and a UEFA Conference League win. Those trophies changed the way the club saw itself. Sarr was at the heart of that shift.
McCoist also pointed to the impact at the other end of the deal. He argued that bringing Sarr into a Liverpool forward line already bristling with options would hand Andoni Iraola "a serious headache" when it comes to selection. And that puzzle is only getting more complicated.
Liverpool are closing in on Bradley Barcola from Paris Saint-Germain in a deal worth up to £123million. Drop Sarr into that mix and Iraola would be managing one of the most crowded attacking departments in Europe.
Stelling: ‘I think he’d do well at Liverpool’
Not everyone on the Breakfast show shared McCoist’s reservations.
Jeff Stelling took the opposite view, seeing a player ready-made for the step up to a Champions League-chasing side.
"I think he'd do well at Liverpool," Stelling said. "I didn't expect him to kick on the way he did at Palace, but he really has."
That is the tension at the heart of this story. Palace see a talisman they cannot lose. Liverpool see a wide forward entering his peak, already proven in English football and capable of slotting straight into a high-intensity system. The player, judging by his social media and the noise around him, appears to be leaning towards Merseyside.
Something has to give.
Palace wobbling without their talisman
While the transfer storm gathers, Pierre Sage has more immediate problems. Palace have started the Premier League season with two defeats from two, and they have looked fragile without their star winger.
A 2-0 loss to Everton was followed by a 4-1 defeat at Manchester City last Friday. Two games, six conceded, none scored, and Palace sit among four clubs still without a point.
Sarr’s absence through injury has stripped the side of pace, incision and, perhaps most importantly, belief. The player who so often dragged them up the pitch and into games is currently watching from the treatment room while his future is debated in boardrooms and radio studios.
On Saturday, Palace travel to Fulham searching for their first win and, in truth, a foothold in the season. They must do it while trying to hold on to the player who transformed their recent history and now threatens to reshape their immediate future.
If Liverpool come with serious money and Sarr pushes even harder, will Palace still be able to say no?
