Following the formal confirmation of Pierre Sage as the new Crystal Palace manager on a three-year contract, the club’s board is moving rapidly to hand the Frenchman a heavily-reinforced squad for their upcoming UEFA Europa League campaign.
Palace have launched a £20m bid to rival Everton for Middlesbrough’s highly-rated 23-year-old English midfielder Hayden Hackney.
Simultaneously, Sage is eager to raid his former club RC Lens for centre-back Ismaelo Ganiou. Lens are demanding a hefty €35m (£29.5m) for the 21-year-old, but Palace view him as a vital insurance policy.
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