Crystal Palace and West Ham boost in £12m chase as president admits he’s ‘open to offers’
With the unenviable burden of filling Michael Olise’s boots after a slow start to life at Selhurst Park, Sarr could scarcely have chosen a better moment to mature in a Crystal Palace shirt. The signing cost £12.6 million.
Sarr appeared at the back post to power home Tyrick Mitchell’s cross after Trevoh Chalobah, another summer acquisition, opened the scoring at The Amex. Additionally, the Senegal international scored a third goal on the counterattack as Brighton increased their pressure in the second half.
Sarr will probably still have to contend with a fresh competition for his starting position as 2025 approaches, as Crystal Palace continues to seek wingers and wide forwards.
Millwall’s Romain Esse has had discussions with Crystal Palace. TBR is aware that Rayan Cherki and Ernest Nuamah of Palace also favor Lyon.
In the meantime, another name that has surfaced in the media recently is Jhon Arias. Arias, a 27-year-old Colombian international who plays for Fluminense in Brazil, is older than Esse, Cherki, or Nuamah, but he might also be much less expensive.
During the summer, when West Ham United was also linked to Jhon Arias, Canal RCN stated that Fluminense was seeking a fee of approximately £12 million.
His contract is about to end in just one and a half years. Mario Bittencourt, the president of La Flu, acknowledges that any proposals for Arias will be taken into consideration in 2025.
Through Lance, Bittencourt states, “As long as the offers are good, we will be open to them.” However, at this time, we don’t have any tangible information. Arias is a player that is totally committed to the mission and his career goals.
“Everyone is aware that I placed a condition on him and that he intended to depart during the [summer] transfer window. We decided that Fluminense would remain until the end of the year because the [offers] fell short of his expectations.
“We will grant his wish to play in Europe during the [winter] transfer window, provided that we meet the terms we have agreed upon with him.”
Bittencourt would be far happier sending Arias across the Atlantic, meanwhile, than letting him join a domestic rival. With a further 15 goals and set assists to show for his efforts in the 2024 campaign, Arias helped fire Fluminense to the Recopa Sudamericana after last year’s Copa Libertadores triumph.
“What I can say is that I’m not selling him to [another club in] Brazil,” Bittencourt explains.
“His contract runs until August 26th [2026]. He received an offer to stay for another four years, and the offer is still on the table. He is a player in whom we made a small investment. We don’t see him as a bargaining chip, but rather as an idol of the club.
“But he has this dream. He has this desire. He dreams of living outside of Brazil, raising his daughter outside of Brazil.
“He will possibly leave. If he leaves, I hope he is happy.”
Like Esse, Cherki and Nuamah, Arias is most comfortable on the right-wing. He is, however, a right-footer rather than a winger who tends to drift inside onto his left.
Last year, Tim Vickery, a South American expert, told talkSPORT, “He’s Mr. Perpetual Motion.”
“[Arias is] lively.” He is quite versatile and capable of working anywhere in the field. He has, in my opinion, been the Fluminense team’s best player.
