Crystal Palace had a good run at the end of the last season, winning consecutive matches and ensuring that they keep their place intact in the Premier League for the next season as well. The Eagles are in pursuit of glory in the next term and are looking to make a good start under their new coach Franck De Boer.
The Dutch great is looking to bring in quite a few players into the squad to revamp it for the next season. Last term, the defence was one of the biggest reasons for the Eagles’ early woes in their Premier League campaign. However, with the inclusion of the French defender Mamadou Sakho from Liverpool, who came into the side on loan in January, things became easier for the Eagles and they made a comeback from the brink of elimination from the top tier to finish at the 14th position on the League table.
The French defender had since been an integral part of the Palace side until the end of the last season and it was just a matter of time for both the sides to agree on the terms so that Sakho can make his move to Selhurst Park permanent this summer. But a £30 million price tag slapped on their defender by the Merseyside club has made the Eagles rethink of their decision to bag the player for the next season, as the move now seems far from possible for the influential Frenchman and the South London club.
This has irked emergency in the Eagles camp to bring in players who can stabilise their backline in the next season, and the new coach Frank De Boer is eyeing the very talented youngster from the Dutch Eredivisie side Ajax in the form of Joel Veltman, who has been in good form in the last term, helping his team to become the runner-up in both the domestic league and the Europa League.
The versatile defender, who can play as a centre-back and is equally good at the right back position, has been one of the top players in the backline for the Dutch Eredivisie side and has been eyed by a number of clubs from all over Europe. The 25-year-old has been playing for Ajax since 2012 and has his contract running with them till the end of the next season.
De Boer has made it clear that he will rather buy five players with £30 million than invest it on a single player, which is Sakho, for the next season.
