Crystal Palace take Liverpool's Sakho on loan
REUTERS - Crystal Palace have signed Liverpool defender Mamadou Sakho on loan until the end of season, the London club said on Wednesday.
The 26-year-old has fallen down the pecking order at Liverpool since being suspended by UEFA last April for failing a drugs test, although the case was dropped after his lawyers argued that a fat-burner he used was not on the banned list.
Several Premier League clubs had reportedly shown interest in the player over the last six months but were put off by Liverpool's 20 million pounds ($25.16 million) valuation.
Sakho said in an interview with Palace's official website that he was happy to complete the move after a long day and that he was excited about the challenge.
"Right now it's a new page for me," he said. "When I have a new shirt I always give my best.
"The most important thing for me is we need to try to win a lot of games and I know we have a good squad, I have a few friends playing here."
He added that while he had not played for the first team for a long time he had been training with Liverpool's second team and doing extra work with a fitness coach to keep in shape.
Sakho is the second player to join relegation-threatened Palace on the final day of the transfer window after Serbian international midfielder Luka Milivojevic moved from Greek side Olympiakos Piraeus for an undisclosed fee.
Palace's hopes of staying up were boosted by a 2-0 win at Bournemouth on Tuesday, though they remain in the relegation zone, two points from safety.
($1 = 0.7950 pounds)
(Writing by Peter Rutherford in Seoul; Editing by)