Bookmakers, Bet Victor, has given Derby County 8/1 odds of signing Crystal Palace winger, Bakary Sako in the summer transfer window. Wolves currently lead the race for obvious reasons – being previously associated with him for 3 seasons and staking their place in the Premier League for the upcoming season. Frank Lampard’s appointment as the Rams new head coach could turn the tables in their favour, almost inherently making the football club more attractive.
Sako’s place in the Eagles squad has been brought into question multiple times last season and is almost set to be answered in the coming month as the attacker runs out of a contract at Selhurst Park. The 30-year-old managed to appear in only 19 games last season, mostly when Wilfried Zaha went down to an injury and left a meteoric gap on the left flank.
Sako was utilised in almost every position in the final third but never as an uncontested starter. Even with Christian Benteke misfiring from every angle and spot on the pitch, Sako was made to come off the bench and was allotted only 718 minutes in all of the last campaign. Not extending his contract makes it ‘crystal’ clear that he is not wanted at Crystal Palace by either Roy Hodgson or the ownership.
Maybe offloading him will give the Eagles the chance to go after younger options or to plug the leaks in other parts of the squad. Derby would certainly be happy to capitalize on the Frenchman’s misfortunes with the Premier League outfit by signing him up for nothing.
Sako could make a huge difference for the Rams squad, mostly due to his versatility and scoring eye. He racked up 6 goals last season and has 24 in his previous stints in the English second division.
Sako played 3-whole seasons with the Wanderers in which he appeared in the 124 games, scoring 38 times and registering 36 assists. Prior to his trip to England, he was a massive hit with Ligue 1 side, Saint Etienne and was even capped 10 times for France’s U21 side.
Later he changed his allegiance to the African nation, Mali and now has 21 senior caps to his name. Sako is an obvious threat from almost every position on the offensive end and can help Derby make an improved run for promotion next season.
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He would certainly place a competition for the wing positions, against the likes of Tom Lawrence, Andreas Weimann and Ikechi Anya.
