Crystal Palace clinches Sakho loan after requesting extension

Crystal Palace has offered Liverpool outcast Mamadou Sakho a lifeline, signing the French centre-half on a season-long loan.

Though the transfer window closed before official confirmation of the move came down, the Guardian's Dominic Fifield reports that Palace requested an extension to complete the capture - a plea that was clearly granted.

Just over two hours after the closure of the window, the deal was announced by the Eagles.

Fifield notes that Palace will pay a £2-million loan fee, while also covering the Liverpool misfit's entire wage packet.

Languishing in Jurgen Klopp's Merseyside doghouse since a preseason tour of the United States, Sakho, 26, has yet to make a senior appearance for Liverpool this campaign.

After putting pen to paper on a five-year deal in Sept. 2015, Sakho missed the tail end of last season with a suspension for a banned substance that forced the rangy Paris Saint-Germain academy product to miss the Europa League final defeat to Sevilla.

That absence was compounded by his banishment as Klopp said, "Now you know, I said it: He is not in these plans for the first team," ahead of Liverpool's match against the Cherries in December.

Attempts to sell Sakho in the summer fell through, and with a contract set to expire in 2020, an outright sale for the angular centre-back was always going to be a tough ask.

Liverpool will again face that dilemma in the summer, though for now Sakho can look forward to playing a vital role in Sam Allardyce's fight to avoid relegation, especially with Alan Pardew's midseason replacement opting for a back-three of late as he did Tuesday at Dean Court.