Liverpool were very serious about signing Ismaila Sarr from Crystal Palace, but could not reach an agreement on a transfer fee and ultimately decided to walk away.
The Reds have decided to keep Cody Gakpo at the club for the 2026/27 season instead, drawing on his quality, experience and versatility to cope without signing Sarr and Brighton star Yankuba Minteh.
Now, Crystal Palace manager Pierre Sage has admitted that Sarr has taken the blow of not joining Liverpool very hard and needs time to accept that he won’t bae playing at Anfield this summer.
The 28-year-old was reportedly pushing very hard to get the deal across the line, but Liverpool couldn’t agree on a fee with the Eagles, with the striker valued at over £60m.
Sage told the press on Thursday: “Like every bad situation, time does the job and we need time for that. He needs time too. First of all he needs to recover because he was and is injured.
“He is our player and we are happy with that.
“He has to digest for sure because it’s a dream for a lot of players to play with this kind of club [Liverpool]. He had a good opportunity but in the end it didn’t work.
“If he wants to continue, you have to have a good season with us as he did last year. We know he needs time.”
Pierre Sage admits Ismaila Sarr “needs time” to get over his failed move to Liverpool pic.twitter.com/PidmXhDIbT
— Anfield Sector (@AnfieldSector) September 3, 2026
Liverpool signed Bradley Barcola in the final days of the summer transfer window, agreeing to pay PSG £123m. Keeping Gakpo means that the Reds have a full complement in attack after also signing Victor Munoz from Osasuna earlier in the window.
Munoz has already proven why he was such an attractive target for the Reds, with his performances so far making me feel as though his £34.6m fee will prove to be a bargain in time. His pace, power and work ethic are all things that make it easy to love an attacker at Anfield.
Barcola is expected to be similarly well-loved at Anfield and is set to make his debut for the Reds against Ipswich on Friday night in the Premier League.