Crystal Palace to sign Mamadou Sakho from Liverpool; Mangala deal off?

Manchester City wanted to sign Jonny Evans from West Bromwich Albion, so they were hoping to sell Eliaquim Mangala to Crystal Palace to have enough funds for the Evans deal. But Mangala is refusing to join Palace, and another development is hurting City on Deadline Day.

According to the excellent James Pearce of the Liverpool Echo, Palace are close to signing defender Mamadou Sakho from Liverpool, who will undergo a medical tonight.

Liverpool have accepted £26 million for Sakho, and if Palace agreed to pay that much, they’ll definitely not pay City a £23 million fee for Mangala, who wasn’t Palace’s top target in the first place.

The only alternative for City to sign Jonny Evans now is to pay the full £30 million price asked by West Brom and send Mangala on loan to Inter Milan if Pep Guardiola doesn’t want the Frenchman around. Going to Inter Milan was Mangala’s wish in the first place, so maybe things will end up the way he wanted.

But things don’t look good for City, that’s for sure.