Crystal Palace defender Mamadou Sakho has expressed his ambition to play in the Champions League once again.
The Frenchman is an established regular at Selhurst Park following his £26 million move from fellow Premier League side Liverpool last year.
Will Sakho leave Palace? Five things you need to know…
- Sakho came through the youth system at oil-rich French side Paris Saint-Germain
- The 28-year-old made 201 appearances in all competitions before his 2013 transfer to Liverpool, almost winning the Premier League title under Brendan Rodgers in the 2013/14 season.
- Hasn’t featured in European competition since Liverpool’s run to the Europa League final in 2016.
- After a solid spell at Selhurst Park, Sakho’s main ambition now seems to be playing among Europe’s elite.
- Sakho’s only goal for Crystal Palace was a last-minute winner at home to Stoke City last season.
Roy Hodgson’s men have been disappointing so far this campaign, having only won two matches all season, leaving them sitting 16th, dangerously close to the relegation spots, outside of the bottom three on goal difference.
Not hitting the heights of Europe with Palace, Sakho has openly admitted that the natural draw of football’s top European competition is something that is always on his mind.
Speaking to RMC, Sakho said: “I’ve always been ambitious, and I’ve worked to reach the highest levels of football since I was a trainee. Today my ambition remains the same.
“I want to play in the biggest competitions possible. If I said otherwise that would tell you that I lack ambition, and that I am happy with what I’ve got.
“Why shouldn’t the Champions League be on my mind? Ask any Crystal Palace player and they will tell you the same thing.
“A footballer’s aim is to play in the biggest tournaments for the best clubs. If that isn’t the case you might as well play video games instead.”
Sakho’s season so far
Having missed out on a place in Didier Deschamps’ France World Cup-winning squad this summer, the tough-tackling defender certainly may have felt he needed to produce more on the pitch in order to play once again at a higher level.
So far this campaign, Sakho has played every single minute of Crystal Palace’s season and has formed a solid partnership with former West Ham defender James Tomkins.
Although the Eagles are struggling for goals up the other end of the pitch, they can be thankful for their strong defence that has kept their negative goal difference to a minimum compared to rival teams in the bottom half of the table.
Palace are yet to concede more than three goals in a match – a 3-1 loss away to Chelsea earlier this month – and their back four consisting of Sakho, Tomkins, Patrick Van Aanholt and promising youngster Aaron Wan-Bissaka is a small consolation to their poor form.
The one positive for Sakho personally was a recall to the French national side where they faced the Netherlands and Uruguay, with Sakho starting against the latter following his no-show against the Dutch.
The post Mamadou Sakho hints at desire to leave Crystal Palace for Champions League football appeared first on Squawka News.
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