Former Crystal Palace manager Sam Allardyce believes defender Mamadou Sakho could help the club to beat relegation again this season.
The Frenchman joined Palace on loan from Liverpool for the second half of last season when Allardyce was still in charge at Selhurst Park.
Sakho turned out eight times for the Eagles and proved to be a success, winning the club’s player of the month award for March.
However, his season was ended prematurely at the end of April when he suffered a knee injury in the 1-0 home defeat to Tottenham.
Palace, who are priced at 2.75 to be relegated, have now signed Sakho on a permanent basis from Liverpool after agreeing a £26million fee although it looked unlikely to happen for most of the summer.
Allardyce, who left at the end of last term and has since been replaced by Frank de Boer, believes Sakho’s signing could potentially save the club from the drop.
The Selhurst Park outfit have fallen to three successive defeats already this term and Allardyce is certain that Sakho will boost their chances as they prepare to face Burnley on Saturday.
Allardyce said: “The main problem again, which was the same thing that happened to me when I got there, is defending.
That is the problem and Mama Sakho will hopefully cure that problem.
“I think Mama Sakho could be the saviour as he was for me. He was one of the major reasons we stayed in the Premier League as well as the other three signings we made.”
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