Crystal Palace have signed forward, Ismaila Sarr from Marseille in a £12.6m transfer deal.
Sarr’s move to Palace comes just one year after he left Watford for Marseille, only to manage four goals in 35 appearance which led the Ligue 1 club to permit his departure following negotiations with Palace.
Palace have paid an initial £11.8m transfer fee but will pay up to £839k in add-ons, taking the total fee to £12.6m with Sarr signing a five-year contract until June 2029.
Marseille though will hold a sell-on clause, meaning that they would receive a percentage of any future transfer fee unless Sarr leaves Palace on a free transfer.
In his first interview as a Palace player, Sarr commented: “I am very happy to be here because Crystal Palace is a great club.
“Thanks to the coach and the Sporting Director – they told me about their project, and I accepted because it is a good project.
“I am going to work hard on the pitch and off the pitch for the team and for the fans as well.”
Manager, Oliver Glasner added: “We’re happy that Ismaïla has decided to join Crystal Palace because he knows the Premier League when he played at Watford, he knows living in England, and he also had many games with Marseille last season.
“In every year, in every club where he was, he’s showed that he can score goals. He showed it as well in the national team for Senegal, so we are really pleased that he will join our group.”
Chairman, Steve Parish explained that Sarr had been on their radar in recent months and is “delighted” to have signed him, and is confident that he can add quality to the squad.
“He is a player who has proven his ability both in English football and on the European and international stage, and I am confident he will be a valuable addition to Oliver’s squad.”
Sarr began his career with Metz where he made his debut in August 2016 and went on to score five goals in 33 appearances that season, which led him to join Rennes in July 2017.
During his time at Rennes, Sarr scored 18 goals in 77 appearances across two seasons and helped them win 2018-19 Coupe de France title.
Following his move to Watford, Sarr netted 34 goals in 131 appearances as the Hornets twice suffered relegation from the Premier League in 2019-20 & 21-22 seasons, although they did win promotion back to the top-flight in 2020-21 season.
Sarr has 13 goals in 64 senior appearances for Senegal since his debut in September, and was part of their title-winning 2021 Africa Cup of Nation squad.
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