Ismaïla Sarr won the Conference League with Crystal Palace last season but is yet to feature in the current campaign. The Guardian Football reports that Palace turned down a bid from Liverpool for Sarr last week, insisting the top scorer was not for sale. Sarr subsequently deleted all references to the Conference League winners from his social media accounts, suggesting he was disappointed by Palace's stance.
Sarr's Senegal teammate Lamine Camara was poised for a £47m move to Chelsea until Monaco backtracked on a club-to-club written agreement. Chelsea were left fuming, but Monaco defended their actions, saying they pulled the plug on Camara's transfer because they thought Folarin Balogun's £40m move to Everton was back on after doubts over his medical. Everton were left with only one recognised striker after Balogun changed his mind over the move to Merseyside.
Diomansy Kamara, Sarr's agent, released a statement questioning the treatment of African players in transfer deals. He said: "The cases of Ismaïla Sarr and Lamine Camara must all interrogate us. We have to get out of this logic where the African player can sometimes give the feeling that he is just a commodity: you buy it, you set its price, you negotiate its future and, too often, your will seems to go to the background. Our African players deserve respect."
Monaco's sporting director, Thiago Scuro, defended the Ligue 1 side's actions, saying they were fair and part of the game. The transfer window has now closed, leaving Sarr's future at Palace uncertain.