Crystal Palace have identified Real Betis winger Abdel Ezzalzouli as a potential replacement for Ismaïla Sarr, should the Senegalese international be sold this summer. 

Talks are advancing between Crystal Palace and Liverpool for the transfer of Sarr, and Palace will need to line up adequate replacements if a deal is to be agreed. 

Pete O’Rourke has reported that the Moroccan winger Ezzalzouli is high on Palace’s potential wishlist in the case that Sarr leaves, and would be a strong signing for Pierre Sage’s side.

Ezzalzouli would not only be a perfect signing for Palace, he’d potentially be an upgrade on Sarr too. 

Ezzalzouli would likely demand a fee in the region of £30m-£40m, but would be an excellent signing. 

On Sunday night we broke the news that talks were advancing between Crystal Palace and Liverpool over a potential deal for Sarr, which would see Palace receive a total package of around £60 million. Reports from some of the biggest journalists in the world then began to leak similar news. 

The general understanding is that Sarr wants to leave Palace, and whilst he is contracted until 2029, player power in the modern game means that when stars wish to leave their clubs there is often little the selling club can do to prevent this. 

Sarr has missed both of Palace’s opening league games through ‘injury’, and has pulled the well regarded final straw for a player wanting away, as he deleted all of his Palace related social media posts, or at least his management did. 

The reality is that whilst he is contracted to Palace, Sarr is approaching his thirties and receiving circa £60 million would be a fantastic sale for the club, and allow them to reinvest significantly elsewhere in the squad. 

The issue is that the timing of this potential move has caused issues for Palace. Not only has Sarr left it extremely late in the window before making his desire to leave the club clear, but Palace will be left with very little time to make further additions. 

Having the replacements lined up ahead of a sale would be a smart move, and Ezzalzouli appears to be one of those.

Abdessamad Ezzalzouli is a Moroccan midfielder who had a breakout campaign with Real Betis last season. The 24-year-old joined Barcelona’s academy slides from Hércules CF in 2021, but was loaned to Osasuna and played very little football for the Catalan side before Betis signed him for around £5 million back in 2023. 

In three seasons with Betis, Ezzalzouli has slowly progressed into one of Los Verdiblancos’ most important players. In the 2025/26 season, Ezzalzouli registered a staggering 15 goals and 10 assists across all competitions in 43 appearances. 

He was set to feature for Morocco at the World Cup but had to withdraw at the last minute due to injury. The knock has hindered his start to the new campaign somewhat, but he did play the final 15 minutes of Betis’ 5-2 defeat to Levante on Saturday. 

Ezzalzouli was one of the best forwards in LaLiga last season. He compares stylistically to the likes of Antoine Semenyo, Ibrahim Mbaye and Igor Paixão. 

He’s a fast, physical and direct winger who predominantly plays on the left-hand side. His finishing inside the box is remarkable and he has all the attributes of a strong forward option in the Premier League. 

His pace is a key feature of his game but his ability to slow the play down when in possession demonstrates a clinical level of composure too. 

He ranks in the elite percentiles amongst wingers and attacking midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues for a number of categories. Non-penalty goals, big chance involvement, shot accuracy inside the box, ball carrying and defensive aerial duels are all standout statistics for him. 

In fact, Ezzalzouli completely blows Ismaïla Sarr out of the water in almost every attacking metric. In fact, he does so with every single option that Palace have in the wide areas.  

The Moroccan is 24, so brings experience as well as potential too, and he essentially dwarfs the attacking metrics of any option Palace currently have at the club. 

Not only is he an excellent finisher but also a brilliant creator for others too. His instinctive nature in front of goal reminded me of Sarr when watching clips, and he looks like he could genuinely be an upgrade on the Senegal winger should he earn his move to Liverpool.