Earlier on Tuesday, we relayed information from France Football’s weekly magazine that Crystal Palace’s Steve Mandanda was ‘homesick’ and was even travelling back to the south of France whenever he could.
Currently recovering from a knee operation, the 31-year-old is yet to play under Sam Allardyce, with few knowing whether or not Wayne Hennessey will keep his job at Selhurst Park once the France number two regains full fitness.
It seems, however, that, despite all this uncertainty, talk of an early return to Marseille in January, which has been touted a few times by the French press in recent weeks, is off the cards, according to a source close to the player.
Speaking to Sport Witness, they said: “His knee is getting better. For now, he’s focused on getting better and playing. As for a return to Marseille, I don’t think so.”
Keen to bolster their squad in the January transfer window, the Ligue 1 side have already targeted one of their former players in West Ham’s Dimitri Payet, even if he appears to be financially out of their reach.
A public move for Mandanda would certainly be another great PR coup for the French club and their new project, yet their first obstacle would be Steve Parish, who was particularly proud of seeing off competition to sign the highly respected goalkeeper in the summer.
As always, next summer could be a whole different matter, especially if Crystal Palace end the 2016-17 season in the bottom three…
