Rumours will persist about the future of Steve Mandanda at Crystal Palace, and those are only likely to grow with Sam Allardyce at the club. It’s felt the former England manager and his coaching staff have a preference for Wayne Hennessey, meaning Mandanda would have to win them around.
Hennessey’s performance for Crystal Palace at the weekend saw him end up in Gazzetta dello Sport’s European Team of the Week, so it’s not going to be easy for Mandanda.
French newspaper L’Equipe have a look at the stiuation and they understandably point out that if Mandanda was perfectly happy at Crystal Palace, he wouldn’t have even met Marseille sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta in December.
Mandanda is a Marseille legend, but it’s not as if he and Zubi go way back, the former Barcelona transfer guru was appointed after Mandanda left.
L’Equipe point out that Mandanda has missed more league games in 6 months at Crystal Palace than he did in 9 years at Marseille, and it’s fair to say the goalkeeper’s first season in England hasn’t gone swimmingly.
Marseille would be keen on a return, but they may prefer that to happen this month, which could be difficult. A week ago a source close to the Crystal Palace player told Sport Witness he doesn’t think a January return is on the cards.
