Crystal Palace boss Pierre Sage aims to hold onto highly rated midfielder Adam Wharton in the summer window, despite reports linking him away from Selhurst Park.
Palace are finalising a loan deal for back-up Chelsea centre-half Axel Disasi, strengthening their defense after already adding Takehiro Tomiyasu and Oscar Mingueza.
Sage added that Palace will look to bring in more players, but will only go after the “right ones”.
Holding onto big players
“We did it [sold big players in the past], and now is not the moment to do that,” Sage said on the probability of Wharton leaving the club.
“He is able to play in another club, a big club. Here, or anywhere in Europe, but one year with us, in a new dynamic, will be good for him.
“And we need him – that is why I think he will stay with us.”
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Stance changing in a year
On whether Palace’s stance will change on Wharton after the upcoming season, Sage said: “We will see. I hope he continues his improvement and he has all the arguments to leave.
“That is why we work every day, and that is why he gives his best everyday too.”
One or two more signings
“Maybe one or two [more signings],” Sage continued.
“Like I said on Monday, we have time. We don’t want to take a player who is not for us.
“We just want to take the good players for us, that’s why it’s not about one or two days because we have to work with these guys during the whole season and sometimes it’s better to wait than to take the first that comes.”
Replacing Lacroix
Crystal Palace sold starting centre-back Maxence Lacroix to Chelsea earlier in the summer, with Sage admitting they should target that area of the pitch to bring in a replacement.
“We need players, but we need a leader and that’s why we need to wait a little bit to find a good one,” Sage said.
On Disasi, he added: “He’s a player from Chelsea, it’s difficult for me to speak about a player of another club, but I hear the same noise as you.”
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