Crystal Palace may consider offering their striker Bacary Sako a new contract after the Mali international scored the winner in their Premier League match against Burnley on Saturday. The Eagles boss Roy Hodgson was full of praise for his match-winning forward but stated that he must continue to progress and not be a player from previous years. Hodgson also added that they must be careful with contracts but noted that if Sako could continue his good form, then he won’t have any problems handing him a new deal at the club in the near future.
The 70-year-old manager said, “To be honest those matters with contracts are being dealt with all of the time, Doug Freedman, our Sporting Director has a very clear overview of that situation and Steve Parish is very much involved with that as well and they involve me.
“You have to be careful with contracts, we have to make certain that the Bakary Sako that I see and I have worked with and have enjoyed working with and I think is doing so well, is perhaps the Bakary Sako that they didn’t recognize or know in previous years.
“I think at the moment it’s pretty obvious that Bakary can sit back quite comfortably and wait – what he can do over the next month or so knowing full well that if he continues playing like he’s playing at the moment he’s going to get a new contract without any shadow of a doubt.”
Sako has scored 6 goals in 17 appearances for the Eagles in all competitions this season. His impressive form at Selhurst Park of late has helped the club climb out of the relegation zone and into 12th place in the Premier League standings. Palace looked destined to be relegated before the arrival of Roy Hodgson at the helm but has since gone on to pick up some great results to get themselves out of trouble under the former England manager. One of the players that have flourished under his guidance is Bacary Sako who had initially found life hard at the club since his move from Wolves in the summer of 2015.
The Mali international is highly versatile and can operate in any position across the frontline which makes him ideal for Roy Hodgson’s side going into the second half of the campaign. He has scored 8 goals in 48 matches for the Eagles after making his move from Wolves and his sensational form in recent weeks could hand him a new long-term contract to extend his stay at Selhurst Park. It remains to be seen what lies ahead in the future of Bacary Sako in the coming months.
